The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, in Abuja, that recognized Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
Bellnews reports that the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment, on Friday, by a five-member panel, held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to pronounce Abure the national chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of the party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure’s faction of the LP for being unmeritorious.
The Appeal Court Ruling
On 17th January 2025, the Appeal Court, in Abuja, in a judgment delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, recognized Abure as LP’s National Chairman.
Justice Barka, through the judgment upheld an earlier ruling of the court in November 2024, that recognized Abure as the party’s chairman.
The ruling voided a judgment of a Federal High Court, in Abuja, delivered on October 8, 2024, on the grounds that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit.
“We cannot say this appeal fails or succeeds because the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place,” Barka held.