adminNafiu Bala Gombe initiated an originating summons requesting a judicial interpretation of the party’s constitution, asserting his leadership status in the absence of the chairman’s resignation. Alongside this, he sought an interim injunction via an ex parte application.
The Federal High Court declined the ex parte request, instead directing Bala to serve the other parties with a notice to show cause. Upon being served, David Mark appealed the court’s order to show cause.
However, the Court of Appeal refused to hear Mark’s interlocutory appeal because his lawyers had failed to obtain the required leave of court. (Lawyers will understand this)
The appellate court subsequently ordered all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, and stopped them from taking any actions that would create a fait accompli on the court or render a future judgment nugatory.
Considering our knack for conflicting interpretations of court decisions, having struck out the interlocutory appeal for want of competence, for failure to obtain the requisite leave of court, before filing the interlocutory appeal, in my opinion the Court of Appeal should have dismissed the matter simpliciter without further order(s) since no preservative order has been made at the lower court.
In light of the INEC timetable and the urgency of the case, the Court ought to have just ordered the parties to seek an accelerated hearing of the originating application at the court of first instance.
Because in 2016, INEC maintained a neutral stance during the PDP chairmanship dispute between Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Modu Sheriff, withholding official recognition until a definitive Federal High Court ruling was reached.
The Commission adopted a similar ‘wait-and-see’ approach during the more recent leadership tussle in the Labour Party involving Lamidi Apapa, Julius Abure, and Nenadi Usman.
This contrasts with its 2022 handling of the APC crisis; despite over 200 court cases challenging the legitimacy of Mai Mala Buni’s caretaker committee, INEC continued to engage with the party leadership, primarily maybe, because no rival faction had formally emerged to claim control.
@Liborous Oshoma Gcfr
