The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja on Thursday dismissed two motions filed by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ensuing infighting rocking the state’s chapter of the party.
This came on the heels of the earlier rulings of the court on November 30 and December 17, 2021, against the Mr Ganduje faction. The crisis pits the current governor of Kano State, Mr Ganduje, against a rival group within the party, led by a former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau.
The two factions had held parallel congresses and produced two sets of state executives on October 18, 2021. While Mr Ganduje’s group produced Abdullahi Abbas as state chairman of the party, Mr Shekarau’s camp elected Haruna Danzago to the same position.
The FCT High Court, on November 30, declared the congress conducted by Mr Shekarau’s group as valid and the officials it produced as the duly elected leaders of the APC in the state.
It similarly on December 17, affirmed its decision rejecting a motion filed by the Ganduje faction asking the court to stay execution & set aside the judgment. The judge, Hamza Muazu, further imposed a fine of N1 million against the plaintiffs for filing “a frivolous and time-wasting motion.”
Mr Muazu, on Thursday, rejected two motions for setting aside the judgment and stay of execution on local government congress.
The Mr Ganduje-led faction had filed the motions following their appeal regarding the matter. They had subsequently transmitted the records of appeal to the Court of Appeal, a crucial procedural step that sets the stage for the hearing of the appeal.
Ruling on Thursday, the judge, Mr Muazu, struck out the applications on the basis that he had lost jurisdiction to hear the case, the records of appeal having been transmitted to the Court of Appeal