The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has granted an order of interim injunction restraining the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Reps, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and three others from executing, enforcing or relying on the judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Liman of a Federal High Court, Kano, on the 3rd of June, 2022.

In a ruling, Justice Haruna Tsammani also restrained the enforcement of the judgement of a Federal High Court in Kano delivered on June 3, granting the enforcement of amended section 84(8) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The ex parte application by the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, which was moved by A. A. Popoola had pleaded with the appellate court to stay the execution of the judgment of the high court delivered by Justice A. M. Liman in suit number FHC/KN/CS/137/2022 permitting Senator Mas’ud El-Jibrin Doguwa, Hon. Habila Sani, Hon. Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi, the Senate president, Speaker of House of Representatives and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enforce the amendment.

Justice Tsammani further ordered the service of processes of the order by substituted means against the parties in the matter and adjourned hearing of the motion on notice for stay of execution to June 9.

On the 3rd of June, Justice Liman sitting in the Kano division of the court had held that statutory delegates can participate in primaries of political parties in accordance with the Nigerian constitution.

Justice Liman reached this decision while giving judgement in a suit filed by Doguwa, a legislative aide to Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Habibu Sani and Bilyaminu Shinkafi.

But the Court of Appeal on Monday restrained all the respondents and in particular, Doguwa, Sani and Shinkafi from relying on that judgment or doing anything inconsistent with the rights of the applicant with respect to organizing/conducting the convention of the APC in any manner the party may deem fit to so doing in accordance with its extant laws pending the determination of the suit seeking a stay of execution of the judgment of the 3rd of June.

The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal made up of Justice Simon Tsamani, Justice Stephen Adah and Justice Elfreda Williams-Dawodu, also granted leave to the applicant to serve the notice of appeal, the record of appeal, and all other processes on the 6 respondents. It adjourned to June the 9th for the hearing of the application.

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