The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday stopped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from suspending the Rivers State governor-elect, Siminlalayi Fubara, and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, from the party over alleged anti-party activities.
The trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, held in his judgment in two separate suits filed against the PDP that due process of law must be followed by any organization set up by law while dealing with issues relating to law.
The judge held that the fears of the plaintiffs and other members of the PDP were well founded and that suspending or expelling them will amount to the breach of their rights to freedom of association.
Justice Ekwo stated that it is in the power of the court to grant redress to persons who have well-established acts that would amount to the infringement of their rights.
He said members of political parties can not be suspended arbitrarily without compliance with the political party’s guidelines and held that “The applicants have established that the respondents will likely temper with their rights,” adding that the case of the applicant succeeded on Merit.
It would be recalled that Fubara’s counsel, Joshua Musa, and Johnson Usman, who represented the PDP and its executives, had, last month, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the suit.
The Cross River PDP governorship candidate, Sandy Onor, and his running mate, Ambrose Emana, also filed a suit against the party and its executives over their alleged planned suspension from the party.
Also on Tuesday, the court granted the motion moved by Mr Musa, seeking an order to amend their suit in another suit filed by the Rivers PDP Chairman, Desmond Akawo, against the party, its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which was earlier opposed by Mr Usman.
Messrs Fubara, Onor, Akawo and others had filed three separate suits against the PDP and others.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/123/2023, which was filed by Messrs Fubara, Odu, and 48 others, the plaintiffs listed PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.
Also joined in the suit are the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 4th to 6th respondents respectively.
The plaintiffs sought an order of injunction restraining the 1st to 5th defendants from suspending, expelling or in any manner doing any act that would tamper with their fundamental rights.
They also sought an order of injunction restraining INEC from according any recognition to any suspension or expulsion or any other act(s) of the 1st to 5th respondents designed to violate their fundamental rights.
They prayed the court to declare that the threat to suspend, expel or tamper with their rights as members of PDP and its candidates at the general elections on account of the disagreement between the party’s national executives and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State where they hail from amounted to a denial of their rights.
Also in their originating motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/215/2023, Messrs Onor and Emana sued the PDP and the five respondents.
They equally sought the same prayers as Mr Fubara and his deputy-elect.
They urged the court to declare that the threat to suspend, expel or tamper with their rights as members of the party and its candidates in the March 18 general elections on account of the disagreement between the party’s executives and Governor Wike who was perceived to have a relationship with them amounted to a denial of their rights.
The PDP and its executives, in a notice of preliminary objection filed by their lawyer, Mr Usman, urged the court to dismiss the two suits for being incurably defective and fatally incompetent.
Giving five grounds, Mr Usman argued that the suits were incurably incompetent and ought to be struck out, in that the suit was not justiciable.
The counsel said the suits constituted an abuse of the court process as the matter dealt with the internal and domestic matters of a political party.
He said the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain, hear and determine the matter being an intra-party matter dealing with the membership of a political party.
