Senate President Bukola Saraki and some other lawmakers have been dragged to court by the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) over their recent defection.
In a suit filed before an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, the group joined the former Senate minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Senator Dino Melaye; and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso as defendants.
LEDAP in the suit filed on September 14 also prayed the presiding members of the National Assembly to declare vacant the seats of the defectors.
Twelve other senators and 36 members of the House of Representatives were also joined as defendants.
Further joined as defendants were the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the deputy senate president, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The suit is seeking, among others, a declaration that by virtue of section 68(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, any member of the National Assembly who resigns from the political party that sponsored his election into the National Assembly before the expiration of the term for which he was elected, automatically loses his seat in the Assembly.
It is also seeking a declaration that the lawmakers are no longer entitled to receive any remunerations due to a member of the National Assembly and that any of such remunerations after their date of defection be refunded to the federal government.
No date has been fixed yet for the hearing of the suit.
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