S'Court strikes out 10 Katsina lawmakers' appeal

The Supreme Court has struck-out the appeal filed by 10 Katsina lawmakers against the judgement of the Court of Appeal that sacked them from office.

The appeal was struck out after their counsel, Mr Olushola Baiyeshea (SAN), informed the court that he had filed a notice of withdrawal due to some irregularities in the appeal.

He told the court that there is another appeal that will take care of the withdrawn appeal.

Two senators and eight members of the House of Representatives from Katsina State lost their seats in November last year after the Court of Appeal declared that they were occupying the seats illegally.

The appellate court ordered the reinstatement of the first set of legislators, whose certificates of return were withdrawn by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in December 2011 on the grounds that they were not the candidates for the elections on the platform of the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

There are, however, concerns over the position taken by INEC and the National Assembly in the matter.

Some of the lawmakers whose Certificates of Return were withdrawn by INEC are asking the interest INEC and National Assembly have in the case by going ahead to file an appeal against the judgement of the court that sacked the lawmakers that are currently occupying the seats at the National Assembly.

The lawmakers that were ordered to be re-instated are Senators Abdu Umar Yandoma and Ahmad Sani Stores. The Reps are Murtala Isa, Muntari Dandutse, Musa Salisu, Aminu Ashiru and Umar Adamu Katsayal, Muhammad Tukur, Tasi'u Doguro, and Abdu Dankama.

Those occupying the seats presently are Hons Ahmed Babba Kaita, Salisu Salisco, Umar Abubakar, Salisu Daura, Isa Doro, Sani Mashi, Abbas Machika and Dr Mansur Funtua and Senators Abubakar Yar'adua and Hadi Sirika.