The ruling of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which acknowledged Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has been overturned by the Supreme Court.
According to reports, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Friday that the Court of Appeal lacked the authority to name Abure the LP’s national chairman after concluding that the case’s core issue was the party’s leadership. The ruling was rendered by a five-member panel.
It maintained that the question of leadership was a party internal matter outside the purview of the courts.
The Supreme Court determined that the appeal, which was submitted by Senator Nenadi Usman and another individual, was meritorious and granted it.
It then rejected the cross-appeal submitted by the Abure group of the LP on the grounds that it was unworthy.
The decision of the Appeal Court
In a ruling issued by Justice Hamma Barka on January 17, 2025, the Abuja-based Appeal Court acknowledged Abure as the National Chairman of the LP.
Through the order, Justice Barka maintained a previous court decision from November 2024 that acknowledged Abure as the party’s chairman.
A Federal High Court in Abuja’s October 8, 2024, order was declared invalid on the grounds that the lower court lacked the authority to hear the case.
“We cannot claim that this appeal is successful or unsuccessful because the lower court did not have the authority to consider the suit in the first place,” Barka ruled.
