The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out the lawsuit filed by the late Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, challenging an alleged impeachment plot by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Wednesday after counsel for the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, B.K. Angaye, applied for the suit to be struck out. No counsel appeared for the plaintiff, and the matter was declared overtaken by events following Ewhrudjakpo’s death.
Ewhrudjakpo passed away on December 11, 2025, after collapsing in his office in Yenagoa. He was buried on January 30, 2026.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/221/2025, was filed when Ewhrudjakpo was still in office. He accused the State House of Assembly of planning to impeach him for refusing to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside Governor Douye Diri.
Diri defected to the APC on November 3, 2025, but Ewhrudjakpo remained loyal to the PDP. Through his counsel, he sought court orders to restrain the Assembly from initiating or proceeding with any impeachment process based on his refusal to defect.
He also prayed for protection of his security details and an order preventing any other person from being recognised as Deputy Governor.
Angaye told the court that the suit had become academic due to the passage of time and the plaintiff’s demise. Counsel for the Department of State Services did not oppose the application, leading Justice Nwite to strike out the case.
The development brings to a formal close a politically charged legal battle that highlighted tensions within Bayelsa State’s executive and legislative arms following the governor’s party switch.
Ewhrudjakpo’s death had already rendered the substantive claims moot.
No immediate reaction has been reported from the Bayelsa State Government or the House of Assembly on the court’s decision.
