The Supreme Court has overturned a decision by the Court of Appeal in Abuja that recognized Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
Delivering a unanimous verdict, a five-member panel of the apex court ruled that the Appeal Court overstepped its bounds in adjudicating on a matter concerning internal party leadership, an area the court said falls outside its jurisdiction.
“The issue of leadership is an internal affair of a political party and therefore not justiciable in any court of law,” the court declared.
The Supreme Court emphasized that by acknowledging that the matter was rooted in internal party leadership, the Appeal Court should have refrained from issuing a ruling on the chairmanship.
In siding with the appeal brought by Senator Nenadi Usman and another party, the justices concluded that the appeal was well-founded.
“We find merit in the appeal and accordingly set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal,” the panel stated.
The ruling reinforces the long-standing legal principle that leadership tussles within political parties are not matters for judicial determination, reaffirming that such disputes must be resolved internally by the parties involved.
