Appeal court orders continuation of Melaye’s recall

A court of appeal sitting in Abuja has ruled that the process to recall Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, is in order.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had suspended the process after the lawmaker filed a suit to challenge the bid to remove him from the upper legislative chamber.

Melaye, through Mike Ozekhome, his lawyer, asked a federal high court in Abuja to declare the petition submitted to INEC on his recall as illegal and unconstitutional.

He also asked the court to nullify the recall, saying it breached his rights.

On September 28, Nnamdi Dimgba, a judge of the federal high court in Abuja, ordered that the recall of  Melaye be moved to the court of appeal.

Dimgba gave the directive after INEC withdrew a motion seeking an order of the court to allow it serve the recall petition on Melaye through substituted means rather than personal service.

He struck out the motion after Yusuf Ustaz, INEC’s lawyer, announced its withdrawal in court.

The judge subsequently directed all issues pertaining to the case be taken to the court of appeal.

But in a judgment on Friday, March 16, the Court of Appeal dismissed all the grounds of appeal filed by Melaye.

Tunde Awotoye, leading two other justices, read the lead judgment.

The appellate court held that the 90 days stipulated by the constitution within which a recall process would take place “has no time limitation as it can be extended”.

The 90 days period provided by the constitution for INEC to commence the process of recall can be extended, since it has not started to run, the appellate court held.

The court of appeal also dismissed the appeal filed by Melaye against the judgment delivered by the federal high court.