Court bars ex-Minister from holding public office in Nigeria

Pauline Tallen

Court bars ex-Minister from holding public office in Nigeria

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has stopped a former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, from holding public office.

This followed the Minister’s disparaging comment on a decision of the Federal High Court last year.

The Federal High Court in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, had nullified the candidacy of Aishatu Dahiru, widely known as Binani, as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the recent general election.

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But Tallen was dissatisfied with the court verdict, describing it as a “Kangaroo judgement,” urging Nigerians to reject it.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), had demanded an apology from Tallen over her comments, threatening to sue her.

The then Minister did not budge, triggering a suit at the FCT High Court by the NBA.

Delivering judgement on the case on Monday, the court described Tallen’s statement as “unconstitutional, careless, reckless, disparaging.”

The court said Tallen’s call to disobey the judgement of the court was “contemptuous of the Federal High Court of Nigeria.”