An appeal filed by former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako seeking an order to reinstate him as governor was on Friday dismissed by the Supreme Court .
The governor still had 10 months left in his second tenure in office when he was impeached by the State legislature on July 15, 2014.
Justice Tanko Muhammad-led seven-man panel of the apex court held in its ruling that it agreed with the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal that declared Nyako’s removal from office as illegal, but that it was unable to reinstall him because of the “special facts” of the case while it was before the lower court.
The apex court further explained in its lead judgment read by Justice Dattijo Mohammed that the appeal had to be dismissed because the former governor’s lawyer had compromised the case at the Court of Appeal by withdrawing the prayer seeking the ex-governor’s reinstatement.
According to Justice Mohammed, a lawyer was entitled to “conduct, compromise or withdraw” his or her client’s case, but that there could be no ground of appeal when a litigant’s case was compromised by his or her lawyer.
“On that score alone the appeal fails,” Justice Mohammed ruled.
The Justice also pointed out that the appeal court order that Nyako be paid salaries and other entitlements accruable to him for the period he was illegally removed from office, was in order.
He ruled, “Because of the special facts enunciated in this appeal, that fact of compromising his case by his counsel is a cross that the appellant (Nyako) will continue to bear.
“So, 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.”
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