Turaki faction, Wike allies clash as Supreme Court fixes date for judgment
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Taminu Turaki, challenging the nullification of the party’s national convention held in Ibadan.
A five member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Mohammed, announced on Wednesday that a date for judgment would be communicated to all parties after hearing arguments.
The appeal stems from a decision of the Court of Appeal, which voided the convention on the grounds that it was conducted in disobedience of a subsisting court order.
The Turaki led group, whose executives emerged from the disputed convention, had urged the apex court to allow the appeal and dismiss a cross appeal filed by a rival faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
During proceedings, counsel to the appellants, Paul Erokoro SAN, argued that the matter was purely an internal affair of the party and outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
However, respondents, including a faction linked to former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, insisting that the case involved disobedience to a valid court order and was therefore justiciable.
Lamido, through his counsel J C Njikonye SAN, maintained that participating in the convention would have violated a subsisting judgment that restored his rights to contest.
The dispute originated from a ruling by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who restrained the party’s leadership under Iliya Damagum from proceeding with the convention until Lamido was allowed to obtain nomination forms and contest for the position of national chairman.
Despite the order, the party went ahead with the convention, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction over what it described as an internal party matter.
The appellate court rejected that argument, holding that the issue was not purely internal and affirming that courts could intervene where there is alleged disobedience to a valid order. It subsequently nullified the convention.
Dissatisfied with that ruling, the Turaki led faction approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decision and validate the convention, while the opposing factions asked the court to uphold the earlier judgments.