The Supreme Court has nullified the directive issued by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which asked parties in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) leadership crisis to maintain the status quo ante bellum—an order that had earlier influenced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw recognition of the faction led by David Mark.
Delivering a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of the apex court instructed all parties involved in the dispute to return to the Federal High Court for a speedy hearing of the substantive suit filed by party chieftain, Nafiu Bala Gombe. The case challenges, among other issues, the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
In the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Garba ruled that the Court of Appeal overstepped its bounds by issuing a preservative order on a matter still pending before a lower court. He noted that the appellate court had already resolved the interlocutory appeal brought by Mark against the earlier ruling of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, and therefore had no basis to impose further directives affecting the substance of the case.
The Supreme Court held that Mark’s appeal before it was partially successful. However, it dismissed the portion contesting the ex parte order granted by the Federal High Court, which permitted service of court processes on parties involved in the suit initiated by aggrieved members of the party.
AConsequently, the apex court directed that the matter be remitted to the trial court for continuation and accelerated hearing.
Background
Earlier, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal had thrown out Mark’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear the case filed by Gombe. The appellate court described the appeal as premature and faulted it for being filed without the required permission of the trial court.
While returning the case to the lower court for hearing, the appellate court also instructed all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
That directive later prompted INEC to suspend recognition of the Mark-led leadership pending a final judicial determination on the authentic leadership of the ADC.