Nullifies Appeal Court judgment recognising Abure as LP national chairman
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Julius Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction and noted that Abure’s tenure had since expired.
The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
A five-member panel of justices of the apex court all agreed in their judgment that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a political party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
Besides, the apex court in the judgment further observed that Abure’s tenure as National Chairman had since expired.
Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, who heads a committee set up by the LP to run the affairs of the party in the interim, had approached the apex court to challenge the decision of the appellate court recognizing Abure as chairman of the party.
After agreeing with the appellants that the lower court erred in law by acknowledging Abure’s leadership, the apex court subsequently allowed the appeal and quashed the Court of Appeal judgment.
The apex court also went ahead to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP for being unmeritorious.
