The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Tuesday delivered its judgment on the leadership dispute in the Labour Party.
Recall that former chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure, had approached the appellate Court after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, upheld the earlier judgment of the Supreme Court that removed him as the National Chairman of the party.
In his judgment on 21st January 2026, Justice Lifu also affirmed the apex court ruling ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Senator Nenadi Usman as the legitimate leader of the party, to the exclusion of all others.
After the ruling, a disenchanted Abure filed an appeal at the appellate Court challenging the leadership of the party and seeking the reversal of the lower court judgment.
However, in a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel of Justices, the court dismissed the appeal filed by Abure laying claim to the chairmanship of the party.
The lead judgment was delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, and Justices A. B. Mohammed and Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike concurred.
The appellate court affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court and also averred that the Supreme Court had, on 4th April 2025, conclusively resolved the leadership dispute within the Labour Party when it nullified the convention that purportedly returned Barr. Abure as National Chairman.
The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the court below had the powers under Section 251 of the Constitution to compel a statutory Federal Government agency to perform its functions when it ordered INEC to recognise Senator Nenadi Usman as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
The appellate court also agreed with the trial court that the constitution of the Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, headed by Usman, was a doctrine of necessity needed to provide leadership in the party when there appeared to be a vacuum.
The Justices lambasted Barr. Abure for abuse of court process and for engaging in forum shopping at a Nasarawa State High Court on a matter already decided by the Supreme Court, and for persisting in posturing as chairman of the party despite the clear, straightforward and unambiguous pronouncement of the apex court.
The court further held that the appeal lacked merit and constituted an abuse of court process.
Consequently, the court, while dismissing the appeal by Barr. Abure, imposed a cost of ten million naira against him for wasting judicial time on a matter that had already been conclusively determined.
