A group, Democratic Nigerians, has called on the Federal High Court in Abuja to uphold the rule of law and judicial precedents as it prepares to deliver judgment in the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a statement issued yesterday ahead of tomorrow Friday’s judgment, the group described the case before Justice Ibrahim Olashupo Salem as a defining moment for Nigeria’s judiciary, urging the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the public to closely monitor the proceedings.
The group argued that previous decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal had already settled key issues surrounding the PDP leadership dispute, including the nullification of the party’s disputed convention and the suspension of some party officials.
According to the statement, the Court of Appeal also invalidated the judgment in the Agomoh case, ruling that reliefs not sought by the parties were wrongly granted and questioning the legitimacy of certain party officials.
It further contended that actions taken by three suspended members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) were unconstitutional, insisting they lacked the two-thirds quorum required under the party’s constitution to take binding decisions.
The group also defended the legitimacy of the PDP Board of Trustees under the leadership of Dr. Adolphus Wabara, arguing that only duly recognised members of the BoT could emerge as its chairman and that only the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had the constitutional authority to suspend or expel elected national officers. It rejected claims that there had been a leadership vacuum within the PDP, maintaining that various courts had preserved the party’s leadership structure through status quo orders and stays of execution while litigation continued.
The statement accused some unnamed politicians of repeatedly disregarding court orders and judicial decisions, alleging that they formed an illegal caretaker committee in defiance of existing judicial directives and continued to act despite earlier appellate and Supreme Court rulings.
The group urged Justice Salem to uphold the integrity of the judiciary by enforcing existing legal precedents and ensuring that court orders are respected.
The Federal High Court is expected to deliver judgment in the BoT’s suit against INEC on Friday, a decision widely seen as significant in the ongoing leadership crisis within the opposition PDP.
