A Court of Appeal in Yola yesterday nullified the impeachment of former governor of Adamawa State Murtala Nyako, saying that the impeachment was premised on impunity, recklessness, rascality and constituted a gross abuse of legislative powers.
The five judges led by Justice Hannatu Sankey unanimously condemned in its totality the gross abuse of legislative powers by the House of Assembly to achieve a premeditated and selfish agenda.
Governor Nyako was impeached by the Adamawa State House of Assembly on Tuesday 16th July, 2014 following allegations of gross misconduct leveled against him by the House of Assembly prompting him to go to court to seek the enforcement of his fundamental human rights as he said the impeachment was carried out without recourse to rule of law.
The judges unanimously agreed that the impeachment of the governor was a misuse of the powers and privileges of the legislatures describing it null, void and of no effect.
Justice Tunde Ayotoye while reading his judgement noted that the respondents took laws into their hands as they flagrantly abused the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to meet their whimsical and selfish desires.
Delivering her judgement, Justice Hannatu Sankey noted that the court as the last resort to justice will not fold its arms and watch impunity being entrenched in the country.
She noted that the failure of the House of Assembly to recognise the constitutional provision of personal service of impeachment notice on the former governor was a misnomer to the constitution which must be uprooted.
The court ordered that Nyako be accorded all rights of the office of the governor of Adamawa State throughout his legally recognised period in office even as the court struck out the appeal of Nyako to be returned as governor of the state as according to the judges the tenure of Nyako as governor has elapsed.
The court condemned in strong terms the arrogance of the lawmakers and some politicians who flagrantly refused to obey court orders stopping them from going ahead with the impeachment process despite the order of the high court in Adamawa state stopping the move to set up a panel to investigate the governor.
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