A Federal High Court judge, E.S. Chukwu, has withdrawn from the suit demanding that Aminu Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, steps down from office following his defection from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
The law suit in question was instituted byAbiodun Akinlade, a PDP member of the House of Representatives.Akinlade also pleaded that the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, should assume the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The case was assigned to Justice Chukwu. However before the case began, Tambuwal petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, on November 30, questioning the neutrality of Justice Chukwu.
Tambuwal pleaded that the suit be transferred to a “neutral” judge to avoid a situation where he doesn’t get justice.
To buttress his argument, the Speaker said, “Sometime in 2013, the said presiding judge, Justice E.S.J. Chukwu presided over the case of Peoples Democratic Party and 12 ORS VS. INEC & 4 ORS, wherein he made a judicial pronouncement, which has been interpreted by some, to the effect that there was no division in Peoples Democratic Party.”
Tambuwal held that the judgment in that case shows Justice Chukwu “has an iron cast judicial position,” since the case he will be presiding over is similar to the case he pronounced judgment over in 2013.
The Speaker besought Ibrahim Auta, the President of the Federal High Court to re-issue the suit to “a neutral judge who has not made any judicial pronouncement on the issue or made public, his own opinion on the issue at hand.”
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