Others include National Treasurer Oluchi Opara and National Organizing Secretary Clement Ojukwu.
The Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Hamza Muazu has issued an injunction postponing the implementation of a decision suspending Julius Abure (in his capacity as the chairman of the Labour Party) and other national officers of the LP.
They are Clement Ojukwu, the national organizing secretary, and Oluchi Opara, the national treasurer.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had requested the dismissal of Abure and other national party officers, and the judge had issued an order of suspension in their favor.
After hearing the parties’ arguments, the judge approved the request for a stay of execution pending the outcome of the defendants’ appeal.
Abure, Ibrahim, Ojukwu, and Opara were prohibited from posing as national officers of LP by an interim injunction that Justice Muazu had imposed on April 5.
This was stated in an ex-parte application that the eight plaintiffs filed with the court and was designated M/7082/2023.
During the proceedings of the day, the defendants informed the court that they have an appeal notice pending with the court.
The judge issued an order for a suspended stay after hearing the parties’ arguments.
Alex Ejesieme (SAN) had argued on April 20 that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case following the ex-parte order issued by Justice Muazu on April 5 stopping Abure, Ibrahim, and two other national officials of the party.
The senior attorney argued that the court was dealing with a situation that touched on the internal affairs of the Labour Party and that the criminal claims made by the plaintiffs in the case could not be addressed in an originating summons.
He continued by saying that the eight plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit with the court were not part of the party’s National Executive Council and lacked locus standi to do so.
Ejesieme claims that “our contention is very clear” that “those criminal allegations cannot be ventilated in an origination summon.”There is the locus standi issue. The plaintiffs are neither party or NEC members, notwithstanding what you said about the LP’s constitution.
They had a responsibility to provide the court with their membership cards, but they didn’t.
George Ibrahim, the attorney for the plaintiffs, requested that the court dismiss the preliminary objection made by the attorney for Abure.
He claimed that because they were still posing as LP national police, the first through fourth defendants had not yet complied with the court’s decision from April 5.
The court’s order from April 5 is still in effect as a result of its finding that it has jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The judge then set a new date for hearing the main case: today, Friday.
Previously, the plaintiffs had informed the court through their attorney, Ogwu Onoja, that Abure and the three other national officials were accused of forging multiple FCT High Court documents, including affidavits, receipts, and seals in order to conduct illegal substitutions in the most recent general election.
The four are to be arraigned in court after being charged as a result of a police investigation, according to Onoja, who also noted that arrest warrants have already been obtained.
