From Muawuya Bala Idris, Katsina
A Katsina State High Court has dismissed a suit filed by some aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the conduct of the party’s ward, local government, and state congresses held between July and August last year.
The plaintiffs, led by former Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Alhaji Mustafa Inuwa, alongside eight other prominent members of the party, took the party’s leadership to court over its refusal to sell expression of interest forms to some party members.
The suit was filed on behalf of 7,905 other party members who expressed dissatisfaction with how the congresses were conducted.
The PDP, represented by its counsel, filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the case on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction and the plaintiffs’ incompetence to initiate the suit.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, struck out the case, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Justice Bawale cited various legal authorities and stated that party congresses are internal affairs of political parties, which the judiciary should not interfere with. Referring to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), the judge emphasized that the court could only entertain disputes arising from party primaries, not congresses.
However, the judge acknowledged the plaintiffs’ efforts in exhausting all internal mechanisms established by the party to resolve grievances before approaching the court.
Reacting to the judgment, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Barrister Mustafa Shitu Mahuta, expressed his clients’ dissatisfaction with the ruling. He confirmed that they would appeal the decision at a higher court.
