Court dismisses PDP suit seeking to unseat Kaduna lawmaker Jallo

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to remove Hussaini Jallo, the lawmaker representing Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State in the House of Representatives, over an alleged defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment on Tuesday. He held that the PDP did not place credible evidence before the court to show that Jallo actually left the party that sponsored his election.

The ruling means Jallo keeps his seat for now, and there will be no fresh election in Igabi Federal Constituency over the matter.

What the court said

The PDP had relied on Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that a lawmaker loses their seat on defecting from the party that sponsored them, except in cases such as a division within the party.

According to the judge, the party's case rested partly on a newspaper publication and on House of Representatives proceedings dated March 18, 2025 that were not certified. He described the newspaper report as documentary hearsay that could not on its own prove a defection, and said uncertified public documents were not admissible under the Evidence Act 2011.

He also noted that INEC said it had not received any APC membership register showing Jallo had joined the ruling party. The PDP, he said, did not produce an APC membership card for Jallo or a resignation letter showing he had formally left the PDP.

Having not proved that the 1st defendant (Jallo) defected from the plaintiff (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress, the reliefs of the plaintiff has nothing to support it.

The judge said a party asking the court for a declaration must win on the strength of its own evidence, not on the weakness of the other side's case. He dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

What Jallo and others told the court

Jallo denied defecting. In his counter affidavit, he said he remained a valid, card-carrying member of the PDP, that his loyalty to the party had not changed, and that he never submitted a resignation or defection letter at his ward.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, also denied the claim. He said he never announced or read any document on the floor of the House confirming that Jallo had moved to the APC.

INEC, for its part, drew the court's attention to the leadership crisis in the PDP, which it said produced two competing leadership structures.

The PDP had asked the court to declare Jallo's seat vacant, order him to vacate immediately, restrain him from carrying out legislative duties and direct INEC to hold a fresh election. Those requests fell away with the dismissal.

The judge, however, agreed with the PDP on one point: that a party which sponsored an elected lawmaker has the legal right to go to court to seek the seat's removal over an alleged defection.

It was not immediately clear whether the PDP plans to appeal the judgment.