The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the orders of Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, which barred three prominent chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from attending any further meetings of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The affected PDP leaders are former National Chairman, Uche Secondus, former Rivers Governor, Celestine Omehia, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara.
In three separate unanimous judgments delivered on Friday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal upheld the appeals filed by Secondus, Omehia, and Opara, ruling that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
The appellate court determined that issues relating to the attendance of political party meetings or participation in internal party activities are matters strictly within the domain of the party itself and not justiciable by the court.
The court further held that the Federal High Court should not have entertained the cases, emphasizing that matters involving the internal affairs of a political party are not subject to judicial intervention.
The Appeal Court also declared the proceedings conducted in the Federal High Court as null and void, including the restraining orders made ex-parte by Justice Ekwo on April 5.