•Court to rule on motion by LP Chairman, others to vacate order, May 12

Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Akin Osuntokun, has blamed the judiciary for the crisis rocking the party after the 2023 general elections.

Meanwhile, Justice Hamza Muazu of a Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, yesterday, adjourned until May 12, 2023, to rule on the preliminary objection by the embattled chairman of Labour Party, LP, Julius Abure and one other.

Osuntokun, who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, yesterday, said that the judgment by Justice Muazu ordering the party’s Chairman, Julius Abure and other national executives of the party to stop parading themselves as national officers of the party created the crisis currently engulfing the party.

He said: “There is nothing going on (in Labour Party) other than the crisis of the judiciary. It is a judge, the judiciary that made a judgement that is now responsible for creating a crisis in the Labour Party.

“It was a judge here, who in his discretion, said that Abure, who has been chairman for the primaries of the presidential, for the governorship, for the state Houses of Assembly should stop parading as chairman of the party.

“A judge, thereafter, gave a judgment that the chairman should no longer parade himself as a chairman. What do you make of that? And look at who and who brought the case before him.

“The judge is a Nigerian, he reads newspapers like the rest of us, he could have taken a more logical position on what was brought before him. Does it mean that if a clerk in the Labour Party brings a complaint before you, you can give a judgment on the basis of that?”

Osuntokun maintained that the judge had the option of allowing the chairman of the party remain in his position and go on with the case, but he rather chose an option showing that he was “setting the party up for crisis.”

Recall that Justice Muazu had in April 5, restrained the LP national officers while ruling in ex-parte application.

Following the Abuja Court judgment, the Deputy National Chairman of the party (South), Lamidi Apapa, declared himself the acting Chairman of the party.

However, an Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City, on April 6, restrained Labour Party and all its members from suspending Abure and other national officers till the determination of motion on notice.

Court to rule on motion by LP Chairman, others to vacate order, May 12

The other respondents are the National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim, Clement Ojukwu and Oluchi Opara.

They are challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain a matter by Martins John, Lucky Shaibu, Isah Zekeri, Omogbai Frank, Abokhaiu Aliu, Ayohkaire Lateef, John Elomah and Dr Ayobami Arabambi

The plaintiffs are seeking for the removal of the four respondents through an ex-parte motion, marked M/7082/2023, brought before the court

Justice Muazu adjourned until May 12 after listening to the submissions of the counsel in the matter.
At the resumed hearing counsel for the 1st and 2nd respondents, Alex Ejesieme, SAN, informed the court that he filed an application dated April 13.

He said the application was seeking to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate in the matter brought before it by the claimants.

He told the court that the plaintiffs invaded LP’s secretariat and vandalized it against the court order.
Ejesieme told the court that since the order was made that his clients have not violated it.

He said he filed a 13-grounds objection urging the court to dismiss the suit.

“Our contention is very clear that those criminal allegations can not be ventilated in an originating summon.
“The issue of locust standi is there when you referred to LP’s constitution the claimants are not members of NEC nor the party. They have a duty to present their membership card to the court which they didn’t.”

He added that no certificate of pre-action was filed before the court in fulfilment of order II rules three and eight.
The matter borders on the internal issue of the party according to him.

Counsel for the claimants, George Ibrahim, told the court that the 1st to 4th defendants had yet to obey the April 5, order of the court.
He added that they were still parading themselves as national officers of the LP.
Ibrahim objected to the preliminary objections of the 1st and 2nd counsel and urged the court to dismiss the preliminary objection.