From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Court of Appeal has finally put to rest all the appeals relating to the leadership tussle in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between the then Ahmed Makarfi and the Ali Modu Sheriff factions.
The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, unanimously dismissed all the four left- over appeals after they were withdrawn by the appellants, on Thursday.
The four appeals, subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday were numbered CA/A/402/2016; CA/A/402A/2016, CA/A/402B/2016 and CA/A/551/2016.
When the appeals came up for hearing yesterday, the Makarfi faction which filed the four appeals, through their lawyers, withdrew the matters on the grounds that they had become academic since the July 12, 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court had settled all the issues relating to the PDP leadership crisis.
Moving the application for the withdrawal of two of the appeals, counsel to Markarfi, David Iorhemen, submitted thus; “In view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in appeals no SC/130/2017 and SC/133/2017 between Prince Biyi Poroye and 8 others against Senator Ahmed Markafi, all delivered on July 12, 2017, which addressed all the issues raised in this appeal, we hereby apply to withdraw this appeal.
A similar application was also made by Yunus Ustaz (SAN) for the withdrawal of two others.
The application was not opposed by counsel to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ferdinard Obi (SAN) and that of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In his ruling, Justice Saulawa said to allow these appeals to continue to see the light of the day would amount to an abuse of court process.
Justice Saulawa stated that once a decision has been taken regarding an issue that is pending before the court, no further hearing will be allowed to continue.
“We are bound by the decision of the Supreme Court which is the highest court in the land, on the principles of stari decisis. This appeals having been withdrawn is hereby dismissed with no cost attached.
The Supreme Court had its judgment delivered on July 12, 2017, removed Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the PPD.
A five-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in its judgment delivered on Wednesday, reinstated Ahmed Makarfi, earlier sacked by the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, as the National Caretaker Committee.
Reading the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, held that contrary to the majority judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, the suit filed by Makarfi faction before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt was not an abuse of court.
The apex court also held that the National Convention of the PDP held on May 21, 2016, rightly and constitutionally removed Sheriff.
It held that the convention acted rightly and not in breach of any aspect of the PDP’s constitution by setting up the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee.