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The Supreme Court of Nigeria 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, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the Labour Party, after finding out earlier that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
The apex court held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court further allowed the appeal filed by Senator Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It also proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure group of the Labour Party for being unmeritorious.
The Street Reporters Newspaper recalls that the Court of Appeal Abuja had reiterated that Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
A three-member panel of the appellate court had, in a judgement delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, held that its judgement of November 13, 2024, which recognised Abure as national chairman subsists and has not been set aside by any court.
Justice Barka made the declaration while delivering judgment in two separate appeals filed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and the caretaker committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The appellate court in the two separate appeals held that it did not delve into the issue of the leadership of the Labour Party, because such issues are not justifiable.
According to the appellate court, anything that is done outside jurisdiction amounts to a nullity. Hence the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered on October 8, 2024 by Justice Emeka Nwite is of no effect because it was delivered without jurisdiction.
While striking out the suit for want of jurisdiction, he held that the appellate court relied on its previous judgement of November 13 last year to hold that “Abure Remains National Chairman of the Labour Party”.
Justice Nwite had in his judgement in October 2024, affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the national leadership.
Justice Nwite further ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Abure as the legitimate chairman, overriding the Commission’s earlier stance that Abure’s leadership was invalid.
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