The suspension of the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure and three others has been lifted by an Abuja High Court.
Justice Hamza Muazu in a ruling on Friday agreed with the LP lawyers that the notice of appeal and documents submitted to the court shows that there was a valid appeal before the Court of Appeal.
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The Justice therefore granted an order of stay execution on the suspension of Julius Abure, Chairman of the Labour Party and others.
Justice Muazu had on April 5 issued an interim injunction stopping Abure, Ibrahim and the party’s National Organizing Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu and National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, from parading themselves as national officers of LP.
The plantiffs in the case; Martins Esikpali John, Lucky Shaibu, Isah Zekeri, Omogbai Frank, Abokhaiu Aliu, Ayohkaire Lateef, John Elomah, and Dr Ayobami Arabambi, had in an ex-parte motion, marked M/7082/2023, sought the removal of Abure and the three other national officers of the party which the judge granted the order of suspension.
Following the April 5 ex-parte injunction made by Justice Muazu, stopping Abure, Ibrahim and two other national officials of the party, Alex Ejesieme, SAN, counsel for the defendants, had on April 20 argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The senior advocate had submitted that the matter before the court bordered on the internal affairs of the Labour Party, adding that criminal allegations made by the plaintiffs in the case, could not be ventilated in an origination summon.
He added that the eight plaintiffs that brought the case before the court were not members of the National Executive Council of the party and as such lacked the locus standi to institute the case.
According to Ejesieme, “Our contention is very clear that those criminal allegations cannot be ventilated in an origination summon.
“The issue of locus standi is there. When you referred to LP’s constitution, the claimants are not members of NEC or the party.
They have a duty to present their membership cards to the court which they didn’t.”
While objecting to the preliminary objection raised by the counsel for Abure, counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr George Ibrahim, urged the court to dismiss same.
According to him, the first to fourth defendants had yet to obey the April 5 order of the court as they were still parading themselves as national officers of the LP.
With the ruling of the court on having jurisdiction to hear the case, its order of April 5 subsists.
The judge then adjourned until today to hear the substantive case.
At the sitting today, the defendants told the court that they have a notice of appeal pending at the court, of appeal. After many arguments from the parties, the judge granted an order for a stay on the suspension.
The court overruled the counsel to the factional members of the LP, George Ibrahim, Esq opposing the stay of execution, granted.
The appeal was filed following the May 12 ruling of the high court dismissing the LP preliminary objection to the order suspending Abure, National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.
LP”s counsel, Ben Nwosu Esq, had argued that the matter was an internal affair of the LP, which the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain and it was, therefore, non-justiceable.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
