Appeal Court Restores Lawmaker Previously Removed Over Defection to APC

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the October 30, 2025 judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, which had earlier removed Abubakar Suleiman Gummi from his seat in the House of Representatives.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday, a three-member panel ruled that the lower court erred in declaring the lawmaker’s seat vacant after he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Gummi, who represents the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, had explained that his decision to defect was influenced by a leadership crisis within the PDP, particularly at the national level.
He argued that the instability within the party made it difficult for him to effectively perform his duties. According to him, the situation meant he “could no longer properly represent his constituents or ensure that they all benefited from the shared distribution of democracy’s dividends within the bounds of law, without undue interference from anyone or anything.”
Delivering the appellate judgment, Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi upheld Gummi’s position and emphasized that a lawmaker has the right to seek a more stable political platform.
The judge ruled that the appellant “has an inherent right, in the face of the notorious fact of the current state of affairs in the PDP, to abandon the party.”
She further noted that a party member is entitled to move to a more suitable political platform if the existing one is threatened by internal instability.
Consequently, the court allowed the appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1606/2025, and set aside the earlier judgment in the suit filed by the PDP and its Zamfara State Chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki.
Justice Oyewumi also ordered the PDP and Jibomagayaki to pay the sum of N1 million in costs to Gummi.