The Supreme Court has ordered that the Taraba State acting governor be removed and the deputy governor, Abubakar Danladi to be sworn-in.
Danladi was impeached by the Taraba State House of Assembly in September 2012 for gross misconduct and engaging in private businesses.
After his impeachment, he approached the court to challenge the ruling of the Appeal Court which upheld the ruling of the Federal High Court in Taraba that he was duly and constitutionally impeached.
In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court held that the impeachment panel set up by the House of Assembly to investigate the allegations against Danladi violated his rights to fair hearing.
The impeachment panel was said to have gone ahead with its proceedings without hearing Danladi and recommended his impeachment, while the panel disregarded his court papers which he served on it to challenge its composition.
However, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta who delivered the lead judgment on Friday, held that there seemed to be a conspiracy between both the Taraba State High Court and the “kangaroo” impeachment panel to frustrate the appellant.
He said the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Taraba State High Court, had dismissed Danaladi’s suit, noting that the two lower courts ought to have resolved the issue of fair hearing in favour of Danladi.
Mr. Danladi was impeached about a month before the governor of the state, Dambaba Suntai, was involved in an air accident.
Mr.Garba Umar, who was appointed to replace Danladi, was later elevated as the acting governor, following Suntai’s ill health that resulted from the crash.


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