…affirms party’s power to sanction members
ABUJA – An Abuja High
Court at Maitama, on Thursday, affirmed its earlier decision that
reversed the expulsion of Senator Buruji Kashamu from the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, though it upheld the powers of political parties
to sanction their erring members.
Sen. Buruji Kashamu
The
court, in a judgment that was delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi,
maintained that though the PDP was empowered by its constitution to
discipline, reprimand, bar or expel recalcitrant members from its fold,
it held that due process must be followed in the exercise of such
powers.
The judgement followed a suit marked
FCT/HC/CV/0303/2017, in which PDP urged the court to among other things,
declare that it has the power to discipline its erring members.
While
deciding the case, Justice Ashi noted that the court had in a previous
ruling it delivered on October 10, nullified the suspension of Kashamu
and other members of the party in Ogun state on the premise that the
action was carried out without regards to due process and in total
disregard to a pending suit on the matter.
Eventhough Justice
Ashi granted the first two prayers PDP sought to the effect that it has
the power to reprimand its erring members, he however stressed that the
granted reliefs did not amount to reversal of the the court’s earlier
decision that voided the expulsion of Kashamu and the others.
According
to the court, “The decision to suspend the defendants was nullified,
because it was taken during the pendency of the suit, which suspension
this court had reversed in an earlier ruling.
“That the
plaintiff’s first and second reliefs succeed is not to say that the
suspension has been reversed. Parties are to revert to the status quo
before the suspension. The plaintiff is at liberty to exercise it’s
disciplinary powers, but with due process”.
Nevertheless, Justice
Ashi declined to pronounce on the plaintiff’s other reliefs which
include prayers for restraining injunctions against the defendants to
prevent them from takibg steps to disrupt the last non-elective
convention that was help by the PDP.
The judge said the reliefs was overtaken by events since the said convention has since been held.
It
will be recalled that PDP had through a letter dated August 1,
announced its expulsion of Senator Kashamu who is representing Ogun East
and the state PDP Chairman, Engr Adebayo Dayo.
However, in a ruling he delivered on October 10, Justice Ashi voided the expulsion on the ground that it was unlawful.
He
held that PDP took the action in flagrant disobedience of a subsisting
order the court made on December 7, 2017, which was restated on January
9, 2018, directing parties not to do anything to jeopardise the hearing
of the pending case brought against Kashamu, Dayo and two others by the
party itself.
The court accused the party of resorting to
self-help by suspending its affected members, despite the pendency of
the legal action it instituted against them.
Source:- Vanguardngr
Share your thoughts