On Monday, March 17, 2025, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt announced that it would deliver its ruling on a suit filed by the Labour Party in Rivers State regarding the alleged defection of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 26 other lawmakers.
The case will be ruled on April 16, 2025, after the counsels representing both parties submitted their final written addresses. The hearing followed a fresh application by the counsel for Amaewhule and the 26 lawmakers, Ken Njemanze, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Njemanze requested that the court modify its earlier request to strike out the defection suit and instead dismiss the case entirely. He based this request on a recent Supreme Court judgment, which he argued had already addressed the legitimacy of the lawmakers. Njemanze claimed that failing to dismiss the suit would be a contradiction of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Although the Labour Party’s counsel, Clifford Chuku, did not oppose Njemanze’s oral request, he argued that the issue of defection was only a side issue in the Supreme Court’s ruling. Chuku urged the court to strike out the application from the defendants.
Chuku also raised a concern that the deponent to the defendants’ affidavit was a lawyer whose name appeared on the suit, which he argued went against legal practice. He asked the court to hear the matter on its merit.
After hearing from both sides, Justice Emmanuel Obile adjourned the case to April 16, 2025, for a ruling on the motion.
