Supreme Court sacks Abure as Labour Party chairman, overturns appellate court ruling

The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Mr Abure national chairman of the Labour Party, having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.

It held that leadership was an internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction and noted that Mr Abure’s tenure had since expired.

The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.

It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP for being unmeritorious.