Supreme court sacks Delta lawmaker, orders salary refund.

The Supreme Court on Friday sacked a member of the Delta State House of Assembly representing Ugelli North Constituency II, Mr. Edoja Akpodiete.
The apex court ordered him to refund to the state coffers all the salaries and allowances he had collected since he had been occupying the seat since 2011.
It was the first time the Supreme Court would be ordering any person to refund the money earned from office that he or she illegally occupied.
In its lead judgement delivered by Justice Walther Onnoghen, the Supreme Court ordered that Mr. Jenkins Gwede of the Democratic Peoples Party to take over the seat from Akpodiete.
The court held that the Independent National Electoral Commission had wrongfully issued the certificate of return to Akpodiete even when it was aware that he had ceased to be the sponsored candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party over 45 days before the state House of Assembly election was conducted on April 26, 2011.
The apex court described INEC’s action as worrisome and therefore awarded a cost of N650,000 each against the electoral body and Edoja.
The court affirmed the documents tendered by Gwede’s lawyer, Mr. Ikhide Ehighelua, showing that the DPP had notified INEC of its choice of Gwede as its candidate after Akpodiete formally withdrew from the election and the party returned the N2m he paid for nomination form to him.
Justice Onnoghen held that the INEC had “foisted on the electorate of Ugelli North Constituency II of Delta State House of Assembly a pretender to the seat who not only withdrew from the election in writing but collected the deposit he paid to the 4th respondent (DPP) for the said election.”
It therefore ordered that the 1st respondent (INEC) to issue the appellant with a certificate of return in respect of the House of Assembly election held on April 26, 2011.
A Federal High Court in Asaba had dismissed Gwede’s case in a judgement delivered on June 27, 2012 for lack of jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it was election related.
Through his lawyer, Mr. Ikhide Ehighelua, Gwede had appealed to the Court of Appeal in Benin which in its judgement delivered on May 22, 2013 had resolved the issues raised in his favour but refused to make any consequential order.
http://www.punchng.com/news/supreme-court-sacks-delta-lawmaker-orders-salary-refund/

Salary Refund? that's weird.

I am of the opinion that the supreme court justices in this case have allowed their emotions to override their sense of law. I quite understand that they are very displeased with Inec's blatant complicity in denying the petitioner his right but they awarded 650,000 naira cost against both Inec and the respondent in this case. The salary refund is like double killing.

The salary that the man was paid was for basically for the services/functions that he rendered as a member of the state house of assembly. Now can the supreme court also order that all comments, arguments that the man proffered on the floor of the house be erased? Can they order that all the bills and motions that the man might have introduced be wiped off the record.

Oyinlola as governor of Osun state had spent almost the four years of his second term before the court declared Aregbesola as the rightfully elected governor. Imagine the court now giving an order that he should return all the salaries he earned for the three years he illegally occupied the seat. To justify that, you have to find a way of also reversing all the projects he did in those three years because he was paid for functioning as the governor.

To me, this seems like another Amaechi kinda judgment. The supreme court might be setting a dangerous precedent.

Good judgement but how to get such refund may be very difficult. Justice delay is not always deny in some cases afterall. Kudos to the judicial system on this. They should extend same by restraining lower court judges from giving partial judgement like the one the high court wrongfully gave in this case in Asaba. That only shows they still have some bad egg in the system.

Ko

If I hear say him return all that money make I nakedd baff

Ty

Gbese for the man niyen o

Bad market

Charge and Bail

Hmmmmm story

Na wa o

these guys above me.. don't comment but book space meant for reasonable comments.

"Democratic Peoples Party" and "Peoples Democratic Party",what's the difference please?
Seems the former has a strong presence in Delta state.

First step in the right direction for the apex court.

Mtcheeeeew... He wasn't under the protection of the UMBRELLA na. Wat do u expect

Reading....













www.nairaland.com/1965965/prayer-g.e.j-supporters

P D P again ! People deceiving people. 2015 palaba

That's good now sack yourself , TA orji, other governors and my wonderful pres for corruption no such thing as small corruption

That's good
He should return every penny both the ones he has embezzled

Good!

I understood nothing from what I just read.

Many days for a thief,, a day for The owner! Who says Nemesis and karma don't exist?

Ogbodavies:
these guys above me.. don't comment but book space meant for reasonable comments.

Where is the reasonable comment?

akinsadeez:
Salary Refund? that's weird.

Yea...it will serve as a deterrent to others

The apex court described INEC’s action as worrisome and therefore awarded a cost of N650,000 each against the electoral body and Edoja.
The court affirmed the documents tendered by Gwede’s lawyer, Mr. Ikhide Ehighelua, showing that the DPP had notified INEC of its choice of Gwede as its candidate after Akpodiete formally withdrew from the election and the party returned the N2m he paid for nomination form to him.

A welcome development. Also election offence such as this should be a crime in Nigeria. Perpetrators should be prosecuted.

Is it really possible to refund the salary since 2011?

This's a welcomed development. And this's the precedence all subsequent electn tribunal and court case should take. It's jus enouf to sack them. They shuld be made to refund. Oyinlola spent over 3 yrs illegaly as Osun state governor. It's only rationaly dat that judgemnt b reviewd too

Hm