The sacked House of Representative member, Dachung Bagos [PDP, Jos South/Jos East Constituency] in the National Assembly says there has been a “military coup in the Plateau”.
He said he felt he was “court martialed” after the Court of Appeal on Wednesday took his victory at the polls and at the election petition court and gave it to his opponent. The Court of Appeal has the last say in legislative judicial disputations in Nigeria.
Bagos was speaking in an interview on Politics Tonight on Channels TV on Wednesday night. He is just one of seven federal parliamentarians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that were wholesomely sacked by the court leaving PDP with no legislator in the state at the federal level.
Of the 8 federal House of Representative positions, PDP originally won 5, and of the 3 Senators, PDP had 2, until Wednesday court judgment took all 7 positions away from PDP..
Other Plateau lawmakers affected by Wednesday’s judicial tsunami are Peter Gyendeng [Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Constituency]; Beni Lar [Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency] and Senate minority leader, Simon Mwadkwon.
Bagos said he feared the same fate awaits the 16 PDP members of the state house of assembly and the governor all elected on the PDP platform, to complete the agenda to emasculate PDP from the state.
He called the situation in the Plateau “a high level of injustice against our people” and said he and his colleagues were reaching out to residents to calm down.
Mr Bagos contended that the judgment against the PDP in Plateau were inconsistent with previous judgments of the Supreme Court and clear provisions of the electoral act which makes issues of nominations of candidates both pre-election and internal affairs of a political party which election petition courts do not entertain.
Protests flare up in the Plateau
Following the court pronouncement, there had been spontaneous protests all over the state.
The protesters say the judgements “was targeted at the popular choices of the people and foisting unpopular candidates who were rejected at the poll by the people during the 2023 general into power through the back door.”
Some blocked the Jos-Abuja Highway and burned tyres, disrupting flow of traffic. Protesters around the popular Mararaba Jamaa Roundabout were heard chanting solidarity songs and holding placards reading ‘The ballot is supreme’, ‘Do not kill our democracy’, ‘PDP is alive,’ ‘Return people’s mandate’, ‘We want justice’; amongst many others.
Plateau has been a flash point of religious and ethnic crisis mostly between Fulani settlers and indigenous Christian ethnic groups. The crisis had often spilled over to the political arena for control of power and access to land and resources.
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