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APC Crisis: Ganduje defeats Shekarau as appeal court dismiss parallel congresses

By Murtala Adewale, Kano
17 February 2022   |   2:40 am
The Court of Appeal, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) division, has dismissed the judgement of lower court that upheld the parallel congresses of the All Progressives Congress

[FILES] Ganduje. Photo/facebook/drabdullahiumargandujeofr/

The Court of Appeal, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) division, has dismissed the judgement of lower court that upheld the parallel congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted by the G-7 faction of the party led by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau.

In a unanimous decision of the three panel of justices, the higher court upheld all the five submission of the appellants, including the Chairman Extraordinary Convention and Planning Committee of APC, and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni and other principal stakeholders in Kano APC under the leadership of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

In their prayers, the appellants had asked the court to determine whether or not the FCT High Court has the territorial and substantive jurisdiction to sit and determine on the suit filed by the Shekarau faction.

They demanded for interpretation on whether the defendants fulfilled all the legal process while filing application on the originating summon attached with documents without writ of summon.

In the judgement ruled in favour of the appellants, the court affirmed that the case ought to have been instituted in Kano, where the congresses held, thereby declared that the FCT lack both territorial and substantive jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The justices also agreed with the submission of the appellants that the originating summon filed by plaintiff at the lower court was defective because it was not filed in attached with the writ of summon that contains list of witnesses that should testify on the matter before ruling.

Besides, the Appeal Court also dismissed the Shekarau’s congresses on the basis that, the matter in question predominantly an intra-party affairs which ought to be decided by the APC headquarters and not justiciable by any court of law.

By the verdict of the panel of appeal court, led by Justices Haruna Csammani on Thursday, Governor Ganduje retained supremacy to preside over the state structure of the ruling APC in Kano under his anointed chairman Prince Abdullahi Abbas.

The Justice Mu’azu Hamza of the FCT High Court had invalidated the congresses held under the supervision of the state government and ordered for recognition of the exercise conducted by the G-7 group.

Reacting to the judgement, one of the principal counsel to the appellants, Barr. Abdul Adamu Fagge, said the determination of the higher court has finally put an end to factional dispute in APC and authenticated Abdullahi Abbas as chairman of the party.

Efforts to speak with the lead counsel to the defendants, Nureini Jimoh SAN, was not successful as the senior lawyer did not responded to calls and reply to text sent to him.

[FILES] Ganduje. Photo/facebook/drabdullahiumargandujeofr/

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