House of Representatives members who defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have berated Justice Adeniyi Ademola of an Abuja High, vowing not to obey his ruling that they should vacate their seats for leaving the party on whose platform they entered the lower parliament.

Their position is backed by the APC leadership even as the leadership of the House of Reps has appealed against the judgment.

Rising from an emergency meeting held yesterday in Abuja, the APC caucus in the House of Reps declared that no member of the party would vacate his seat based on Justice Ademola’s judgement delivered on Monday, March 31.

House Minority Leader, Hon. Samson Osagie, who addressed reporters on behalf of the group, alleged that Justice Ademola veered off the course of the case before him in order to do the bidding of the PDP.

“At best, the judgment has turned law on its head and cannot stand. Our colleagues have taken steps to appeal the judgment and we are confident that justice will prevail. In the meantime, we want to assure members of the public that there is no court judgment before the House directing any member of the APC to vacate his or her seat,” he said.

Osagie dismissed the judgment as not worth adhering to since it, claiming that it ran contrary to the rule of law. He disclosed that the 39 APC members affected by the ruling have filed a notice of appeal dated April 1, 2014 challenging the judgment.

The House of Representatives, its Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal and Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, have also appealed judgment, urging the Court of Appeal, Abuja, to set it aside.

The appellants raised seven grounds of appeal, with a promise to add more. They argued that the judgment is “perverse and not supported by the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.”

Meanwhile, APC’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement issued yesterday asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to act urgently to sanction Justice Ademola for allegedly engaging in mischief that could bring the Bench into disrepute.

APC claimed that Justice Ademola lacks the power to adjudicate on the issue at stake, describing his ruling as unconstitutional.

•Photo shows the House of Representatives in session.

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