THE TRUE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP CRISIS

 

THE TRUE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP CRISIS, THE  LEGIT FACTION IN THE EYE OF THE LAW AND EFFECT OF THE DECISIONS OR ACTIONS TAKEN BY BOTH OF THEM FROM THE DATE OF THE SUSPENSION AND RESTRAINING ORDER OF FCT HIGH COURT.  BY MONDAY MAWAH ESQ.      

For a couple of weeks now, the once peaceful Labour Party has been engulfed in leadership crisis.  For those that have been following the leadership crisis closely, you’d recall that the crisis started precisely on the 31st March, 2023 when we woke up to the news of the suspension of Barr. Julius Abure, the National Chairman of Labour Party from his Ward in Uromi, Edo State due to some improprieties and in accordance with the Labour Party Constitution. Upon his suspension, the Ward Executive immediately communicated their decision suspending Barr. Julius Abure to the NWC of the Party on 1st April 2023. Consequently, a leadership vacuum was automatically created by this suspension from his Ward. As we all know, nature abhor vacuum and in compliance with the provisions of the Labour Party Constitution particularly Article 14(2)(b) which provides that in the absence of the National Chairman of the Party, the most senior Deputy National Chairman of the Party will act in his place pending the Convention Electing a new National Chairman. The Deputy National Chairman of the Party as at the time of the suspension, Alhaji Lamidi Bashiru Apapa in accordance with the letter and tenets of the Labour Party Constitution assumed the position of an Acting National Chairman of the Party and he immediately called for an emergency National Working Committee meeting which was held on 2nd April 2023 to deliberate on some of the burning issues affecting the Lanour Party. Amongst the issues discussed at the meeting was  the decision suspending Julius Abure transmitted or communicated to the party.  At the said meeting and after a thorough deliberation Alh. Lamidi Apapa was unanimously affirmed as the Acting National Chairman of the Party and  the decision of the Abure’s Ward Executive suspending him was ratified. Another issue that was considered was the numerous criminal petitions at various government agencies against the suspended National Chairman, which immediately prompted the Party to brief a Lawyer to file a suit against Julius Abure and his co-travellers in other to distance the Party from the grave criminal allegations and to protect our Presidential Candidate as our integrity remains our only marketing tool to Nigerians and OBIdients. 

To make the matter worst for the suspended Chairman, the FCT High Court on the 4th of April 2023, after considering the facts before it, granted an interim Order or Injunction restraining Julius Abure, Alh.  Umar Faruk, the National Secretary, Ojukwu Clement, the National Organizing Secretary and Miss Oluchi, the National Treasurer from parading themselves as National officers of the Party pending the determination of the Motion on Notice pending before the court. Surprisingly and against all known practices and conventions, Barr. Julius Abure approached the Edo State High Court vide another suit, suppressed some facts and misled the honourable court into believing  that his suspension had not been communicated or transmitted to the party and that same had not  been ratified by the National Working Committee of the Party. Whereas Barr. Julius Abure knew quite well that the decision of his Ward had long been transmitted or communicated to the Party since on the 1st day of April 2023 and same ratified by the party on the  2nd day of April 2023. At the Edo State High Court, Bar. Abure vide an exparte application prayed the court for an Interim Injunction restraining his Ward Executive from transmitting the decision suspending him  which had already been transmitted since the 1st day of April 2023 to the Party. In the same application, Bar. Abure prayed the Court for an Order restraining the Party from implementing or giving effect to the valid decision of his Ward, a decision which had also been ratified by the party on the 2nd day of April, 2023.

The questions begging for answer are, what is the legal implication of all these cases and Court Rulings vis-a-vis the ratification of the National Working Committee of the Party? Can the suspended National officers legally carry out any official function in their capacity as National officers of the Labour Party? The resounding answer to these question is certainly in the negative. The reasons for the above are not far fetched. Article 10 (B) (v) of the Labour Party  Constitution empowers the Ward Executive to impose disciplinary action (except expulsion) on any erring or defaulting member. The Ward Executive in accordance with the Article stated above acted within the confines of its power when it imposed suspension and not expulsion on Julius Abure and therefore the suspension is legal and he can no longer carry out any activities on behalf of the Party that can be legal.  Another question we need to ask and answer is whether the case in Edo State High Court filed by Bar. Julius Abure affected the suspension already handed down on Barr. Julius Abure? the answer to the above is also capital NO! The reason for that is simple. As at the time Bar. Julius Abure filed his case In court, he had already been suspended and the elementary principal of law is that you cannot restrain an already completed act. Moreso, Abure did not ask the Court to restrain his Ward from suspending him, rather, he asked the court to restrain his Ward from transmitting the decision suspending him to the National Working Committee.  The reason is simple. Abure got the said Order on the 5th of April 2023,  his Ward suspended him on the 31st of March, 2023. That means that he had already been suspended 5 days before the Order was obtained. Also, the Order he got at the Edo State High Court did not restrain his Ward from suspending him because the Ward had already suspended him 5 days before the Order came. It is submitted that having been suspended by his Ward, one of the best options opened to him under Article 19(3)(a) of Labour Party Constitution was to apply to the next higher Organ of the party within 30 days of the suspension. Unfortunately,  Abure missed this easiest way to have the decision suspending him set aside.  Painfully, the 30days window given to him by the Constitution had pased without him appealing same and therefore he can no longer  do that anymore.  Barr. Abure’s application to the next higher Organ of the Party would have been the way out in accordance with the letter and tenets of the Constitution of the Labour Party and not to rush to court to seek a restraining Order over an act that had already been completed. Furthermore, Article 19(3)(c) of the Labour Party Constitution further provides that a member suspended shall not take part in any Party’s activities.  Bar. Abure having been suspended from his Ward has no business with any of the Party’s activities including constituting screening committee and participating in same as chairman of the screening committee for Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa State. He also cannot constitute planning committee for the primaries for the above mentioned States. He also cannot call for National Executive Committee meeting and cannot also preside over the meeting of the NEC. Apart from the suspension from his Ward on the 31st day of March 2023, which was immediately transmitted to the party on the 1st of April and ratified on the 2nd of April, the Federal Capital Territory High Court on the 4th of April 2023, granted  a restraining Order against Barr. Abure, the National Secretary, the National Organising Secretary and the  National Treasurer from parading themselves as National officers of the Labour Party pending the determination of the Motion on Notice filed before  the Court. It is submitted that by virtue of the Order stated above, effective from that 5th day of April 2023,  Bar. Abure and the other restrained National officers of the Party can no longer legally transact any business on behalf of the Party, including but not limited to organising any screening for aspirants,  constitute committee for primaries elections of the party, call for National Executive committee meeting, appointing caretaker State Working Committees for States and presiding over all these actions on behalf of the the Party. The law is settled to the effect that every person or authority must obey or comply with an Order of Court pending the discharge or overturn of same. The Court in several decided cases have taken this position. One of such cases is the case of NIGERIA ARMY v. MOWARIN (1994) 4 NWLR (PT. 235) 345. heard as follows " No distinction exists between an interim, interlocutory or final order in the duty to obey and comply with such order while it subsists. An order once issued by a court clothed with requisite jurisdiction and competence must be obeyed by a party even if in his or its opinion the Order was perverse. It does not lie in the month of a party to say that such order was void or invalid, irregular or wrong and that he/it will not obey the same as the right or power to so declare resides in another court.  The question then is, what is the legal effect of all the activities organised, participated in and or carried out on behalf of the party by Abure and the three others mentioned above during the pending of the suspension and restraining Order? Our law is  long settled beyond paraadventure to the effect that an Order of court, rightly or wrongly made must be obeyed by the affected party until and unless vacated by the same court that made it or set aside by an appellate court. Any action or act done in contravention of the Order of court is not only null and void but an exercise in futility. Parties are bound to comply with the Order of court to the letter and not allowed to act in defiance of same.

Conclusively, in view of the above, every decision taken by Barr. Julius Abure from on the 31st day of March 2023 when he was suspended and action or decision taken jointly or separately by him and the National Secretary, Alh Faruk Umar, the National Organising Secretary, Mr. Clem Ojukwu and the National Treasurer Miss Oluchi from on the 5th of April are all action(s) taken in violation of the Order of the court of competent jurisdiction and therefore null and void and are all exercises in futility.