A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and headed by Justice Hamza Muazu have on Friday granted an order of stay execution on the suspension of Julius Abure, Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) and others.
Others are the National Organizing Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu and National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, who were restrained from parading themselves as LP national officials.
The plaintiffs in the case are Martins Esikpali John; Lucky Shaibu; Isah Zekeri; Omogbai Frank; Abokhaiu Aliu; Ayohkaire Lateef; John Elomah and Dr Ayobami Arabambi,.
They had in an ex-parte motion, sought the removal of Abure and the three other national officers of the party. The judge after listening to arguments from the parties granted the order for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal filed by the defendants.
Justice Muazu had on April 5 issued an interim injunction stopping Abure, Ibrahim and the party’s National Organizing Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu and National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, from parading themselves as national officers of LP.
At the sitting on Friday, the defendants told the court that they had a notice of appeal pending at the Court of Appeal. After much arguments from the parties, the judge granted an order for a stay on the suspension on Abure and the other officials of the Labour Party as first served by the court.
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.
