Court Reinstates Abure As National Chairman, Other Officers

A Federal High Court in Abuja has reinstated Julius Abure, Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) along with other suspended officers.

Others include the National Organizing Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu and National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, who had earlier been restrained from parading themselves as LP national officials.

Justice Hamza Muazu of the court, after listening to arguments from different parties involved in the case, granted the order for stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal filed by the defendants.

At the sitting today, the defendants told the court that they have a notice of appeal pending at the court of appeal.

After much arguments from parties, the judge granted order for a stay on the suspension.

Following the April 5 ex-parte injunction made by Justice Muazu, stopping Abure, Ibrahim and two other national officials of the party, Alex Ejesieme, SAN had on April 20 argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The senior advocate had submitted that the matter before the court bordered on the internal affairs of the Labour Party, adding that criminal allegations made by the plaintiffs in the case, could not be ventilated in an origination summon.

He added that the eight plaintiffs that brought the case before the court were not members of the National Executive Council of the party and as such lacked the locus standi to institute the case.

According to Ejesieme, “Our contention is very clear that those criminal allegations cannot be ventilated in an origination summon.

“The issue of locus standi is there. When you referred to LP’s constitution, the claimants are not members of NEC or the party.

“They have a duty to present their membership cards to the court which they didn’t.”

While objecting to the preliminary objection raised by the counsel for Abure, counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr George Ibrahim, urged the court to dismiss same.

He said the first to fourth defendants had yet to obey the April 5 order of the court as they were still parading themselves as national officers of the LP.