Supreme Court nullifies judgement recognising Abure as LP national chairperson

The Supreme Court held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction and noted that Mr Abure’s tenure had since expired.

The Supreme Court, on Friday, set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which recognised Julius Abure as the national chairperson of the Labour Party (LP).

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Court of Appeal lacked 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 was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.

The court upheld the appeal filed against the judgement by Nenadi Usman, who was appointed the caretaker chairperson of the party in September 2024, and one other.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) sacked the Mr Abure-led executive in September last year and appointed Ms Usman, a former Minister of Finance and ex-senator representing Kaduna South, to lead a 29-member caretaker committee and facilitate the election of a new party leadership within 90 days.

The Supreme Court held on Friday that Ms Usman’s appeal was meritorious, as it also dismissed the cross-appeal filed by the Mr Abure-led faction of the LP for lacking merit.

Earlier ruling by the Appeal Court

Earlier on 17 January 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled that its earlier decision in November 2024, recognising Mr Abure as the party’s chairman, remained valid and had not been overturned by any court.

Hamma Barka, who read the lead judgement, held that the appellate court did not consider the two separate appeals filed by the appellants since they centred on party leadership, on which the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate.

He said anything done outside jurisdiction amounted to a nullity.

The court voided the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered on 8 October 2024 on the grounds that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit.

Background of the matter

In February 2024, Oluchi Oparah – the Labour Party’s national treasurer, accused Mr Abure of misappropriating N3.5 billion, a claim which Mr Abure denied while threatening legal action. The allegation led to calls from party members for Mr Abure’s removal.

Earlier in April 2023, the FCT High Court issued an order restraining Mr Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of the party.

While ruling on an ex parte application, Hamza Muazu, the judge, also restrained Farouk Ibrahim, national secretary; Clement Ojukwu, national organising secretary; and Mr Opara from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

On 4 September, Ms Usman was appointed to chair a 29-member caretaker committee after Governor Alex Otti of Abia State convened a stakeholders’ meeting of the party in Umuahia.

Peter Obi, LP’s presidential candidate in 2023, and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, were among the top party members who attended the meeting.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had also invalidated Mr Abure’s leadership, saying the national convention violated the constitution and Electoral Act.

The electoral body 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.

However, in a judgement on 8 October 2024, the Federal High Court affirmed the Abure-led leadership and the March 2024 Nnewi convention that produced the party executives.

The judge, Emeka Nwite, had ordered INEC to recognise Mr Abure as the legitimate chairman of the party.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday holding that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, being an issue of internal affairs of the party, lays the dispute to rest as it upholds Ms Usman’s appeal.