The Supreme Court has delivered judgement in the appeal filed by former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako against his impeachment.
The court refused to grant Mr. Nyako’s supreme prayer of unseating Governor Jibrilla Bindow and reinstating him (Nyako) to complete his tenure as governor after his impeachment was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Tanko Muhammad-led seven-man panel unanimously held that the appeal was lacking in merit.
“This court agrees with the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal that declared Nyako’s removal from office as illegal,” said the judge.
“We also hold onto the decision of the lower court that fails to reinstate the appellant because of the special facts of the case.
“There could be no ground of appeal when a litigant’s case was compromised by his or her counsel and on that score alone the appeal has to fail.
“However, the remedy by the appeal court ordering the payment of salaries and other entitlements accruable to the appellant for the period he was illegally removed from office was in order.
“There will never be a forum again where that issue of reinstatement would be raised again, and to that extent, that informs my dismissal of the appeal in its entirety,’’ Mr. Muhammad added.
Counsel to Mr. Nyako, Uchema Nwokedi (SAN), had earlier urged the court to consider the damage done to the Constitution by the lawmakers in their desperate resolve to impeach his client.
Mr. Nwokedi prayed the court to ensure that such impunity never repeats itself, saying the only way to compensate his client for the damage done to him was to reinstate him as governor of the State.
Mahmud Magaji (SAN), who represented the Adamawa State House of Assembly urged the court to refuse the appeal for lacking in merit.
Chris Uche (SAN) and Oyetola Atoyebi, representing Adamawa State and the Nigerian Police Force respectively, had also argued in similar manner against the appeal.
