The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the judgment of the FCT high court, which confirmed Mainasara Sani’s faction as APC executives in Sokoto State on December 16, 2021.
Three factions were vying for control of the state’s Republican Party. The factions are: one loyal to Aliyu Wamakko, a former governor of the state and current senator representing Sokoto South; another loyal to former senator Isa Abubakar Gada; and a third that supports Hon Balarabe Salame, a current member of the House of Representatives, in collaboration with the state’s speaker.
The Senator Aliyu Wamakko camp, led by Alhaji Isa Achida, was declared the authentic APC executives in the state by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
After a state congress organized by the Senator Gada-led faction, the Wamakko camp elected Isa Sadiq Achida as the party’s state chairman. However, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, declared Mainasara Sani as the legitimate state chairman of the party.
But, in a ruling issued yesterday, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani declared the Abuja high court’s decision null and void, stating that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a case involving an incident that occurred in Sokoto State.
“This court and the supreme court have made pronouncements on matters of jurisdiction on numerous occasions,” Justice Tsammani said. You’re asking us to sit over our own judgment by bringing these kinds of cases. We should be aware that a problem should be addressed in the location where it occurred.
“How can someone travel all the way from Sokoto to Abuja to discuss a matter that belongs in Abuja?” We, and even the Supreme Court, frown on these kinds of arrangements. The lawsuit is also dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction.
“On matters arising in Abuja, the Federal High Court, Abuja, has jurisdiction.” The matter is not before the FCT high court, which lacks jurisdiction. “Any stake, including high court decisions and judgments, is void.”
