Court reinstates sacked state Assembly member, orders payment of financial entitlements

From Umar Dankano, Yola.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Yola has reinstated the sacked member representing Michika Constituency, Hon. Joseph Ayuba Kwada in the Adamawa state Assembly.
Justice Muhammmad Lawal issued the reinstatement order while ruling on the case on Thursday, voiding his earlier removal by the legislators under the leadership of Hon. Speaker Aminu Iya Abbas as a breach of his fundamental human right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (As amended).
Justice Lawal reversed the sacking of the lawmaker citing the grounds that the Assembly erred for not giving him fair hearing as a defense concerning the allegations labeled against him by the house committee that investigated and recommended the removal at the initial stage.
Recall that Hon. Joseph Kwada popularly known as “The Polis” was sacked on the 27th April,2022 by Federal High court Yola presided over by Justice Abdulaziz Anka in a legal suit instituted by the Assembly which judgement was delivered on the 12th October,20 22 upholding the Assembly’s resolution of declaring Kwada’s seat vacant for simply decamping from PDP to APC due irreconcilable political difference.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the Federal High court Yola, Kwada through his legal representative, Chief Oluwole Afolabi approached the Appeal court Yola for determination of the matter accusing Assembly of not according him opportunity to defend himself rather declared his seat vacant without recourse to him.
However, the court ordered that he (Kwada) should be reinstated to enable him complete his four year tenure expected to end in June 2023 and that,all his salaries and other financial emoluments and other entitlements due to him as an elected member of the Assembly since April last year to date should be paid to him with immediate effect.
However, political pundits in the state believe that Hon. Joseph Kwada got the unfortunate treatment as a result of his political quagmire with a close Associate to Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Mr. Stephen Maduwa who fought vehemently to control the soul of Machika local government area politically but was greeted with stiff resistance from some key critical stakeholders headed by the polis.