In a decisive ruling that has further deepened the crisis rocking the Labour Party, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday April 21, 2026 dismissed the appeal filed by Julius Abure and his allies, thereby affirming the recognition of the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee as the authentic leadership of the party.
Delivering the lead judgment, Hon. Justice Oyejoju O. Oyewumi held that the Federal High Court rightly exercised jurisdiction in the matter, as the reliefs sought were primarily directed at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compel it to perform its statutory duties.
Justice Oyewumi, relying on binding Supreme Court precedents, ruled that Abure’s claim to leadership had already been nullified, while the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) acted within its constitutional powers in setting up the transition committee.
The judge took the opportunity to deliver a stern admonition on internal party democracy, warning politicians against constant disregard for party rules.
“Before I am done, may I admonish political parties and their members to endeavor to always allow their constitution, rules, regulations, and guidelines to guide them in choosing their officers as well as candidates,” Justice Oyewumi stated.
“That way, incessant internal rifts which always find their way to court will be reduced. If the constitution of a political party has prescribed a duration for the tenure of office of an officer, such officer should be humble enough to leave at the expiration of their tenure.”The appellate court did not spare sharp words for what it described as clear cases of forum shopping.
Justice Oyewumi lambasted the Nasarawa State High Court for assuming jurisdiction over a matter already settled by the Supreme Court, describing the action as “judicial rascality and impenitence” for disregarding the doctrine of stare decisis.
“The action of the Nasarawa State High Court in assuming jurisdiction exhibited judicial rascality and impenitence for apparently discountenancing the context and spirit of ‘stare decisis’ and that is highly condemnable and unacceptable,” the judge declared.
Justice Oyewumi further characterised the appellants’ conduct as “an act of forum shopping, an act I call ‘trial of luck,’ a gambling, a reprehensible practice of choosing the most favourable territorial decision of court in which a matter of course may be entertained and adjudicated upon.
”The court held that the Nasarawa State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, describing its orders as a nullity. It stressed the supremacy of the Supreme Court in the judicial hierarchy.
“No court has jurisdiction to sit on appeal over the decision of the Supreme Court. Justice there must be, but in our courts, it has to be justice according to the law,” the judge emphasised.
In a unanimous decision by the panel, the Court of Appeal dismissed Abure’s appeal in its entirety, describing it as “grossly devoid of merit” with arguments that were “speculative, time-wasting, unsubstantiated, and lacking in any legal foundation.”
The court affirmed the judgment of the lower court and slammed the appellants with a cost of ₦10 million in favour of the respondents.
