Nenadi Usman, chairman of the Labour Party (LP) caretaker committee, has described the judgement nullifying an appeal that recognised Julius Abure as the party's national chairman as a victory for the rule of law.
BACKGROUND
In February, Oluchi Oparah, the party's national treasurer, accused Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion - a claim the LP chairman denied while threatening legal action.
The allegation led to demand from party members for Abure's removal.
In April 2023, the FCT high court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the party.
Ruling on an ex parte application, Hamza Muazu, the presiding judge, also restrained Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Opara; from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
On September 4, Usman was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee after Alex Otti, governor of Abia state, convened a stakeholders meeting of the party in Umuahia.
Peter Obi, the LP presidential candidate in 2023, and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, were among the top party members who attended the meeting.
INEC had also invalidated Abure's leadership, saying the national convention violated the constitution and Electoral Act.
INEC said the party failed to meet legal requirements for holding the convention, insisting that Abure's tenure as LP national chair expired in June 2024.
But in a judgment on October 8, the federal high court affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.
In another judgment delivered on January 17, the court of appeal ruled that its earlier decision in November 2024, recognising Abure as the party's chairman, remains valid and has not been overturned by any court.
Hamma Barka, who read the lead judgment, held that the appellate court did not consider the two separate appeals filed by the appellants since they bordered on party leadership which the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on.
He said anything that is done outside jurisdiction amounts to "null and void".
Consequently, the court voided a judgment of the federal high court 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.
SUPREME COURT VERDICT
In a verdict delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court unanimously held that the appellate court lacked the jurisdiction to have affirmed Abure as chairman of the LP, since the substance of the case was about the party's leadership.
It held that the issue of leadership is an internal affair of a party over which courts lack jurisdiction.
It then proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP for lacking in merit.
'NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED'
In a statement issued on Friday, Usman said the rulling of the apex court is a "victory for the rule of law and a significant milestone" for Nigeria's democracy.
"It is important to emphasize that this is not a time for triumphalism-there is no victor and no vanquished," she said.
"What matters most is our shared commitment to the ideals and aspirations of the Labour Party and the Nigerian people.
"We must now come together, united in purpose and vision, to move the party forward.
"The Labour Party remains one indivisible family, steadfast in its mission to create a New Nigeria founded on justice, equity, and people-centred governance."
Usman asked LP members and supporters to remain committed to the democratic ideals that bind the party.
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