Kebbi High Court declines jurisdiction, vacates order halting Secondus suspension as PDP Chairman

The Kebbi State High Court, sitting in Birnin Kebbi, on Thursday, succumbed to the intervention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria over conflicting court orders by courts of parallel jurisdiction. The State High Court, therefore, declined jurisdiction to hear the PDP suit and set aside the ex-parte order on stay of execution of the suspension of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Uche Secondus from office.

The presiding Judge, Justice Nusirat Umar, further struck out the motion on notice and the substantive suit, noting that the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter.

Justice Umar on August 26, 2021, granted an order of interim injunction, halting the suspension of Prince Secondus pending the determination of the substantive motion on notice.

The judge, accordingly, granted Secondus leave to continue exercising all the constitutional powers of the office of National Chairman of the PDP pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

The court, after listening to a motion on notice brought before it by five applicants, on Thursday, altered the earlier interim judgement.

Counsel to the applicants, Henry Bello, had questioned the territorial jurisdiction of the court, referring to section 272 sub-section one of the constitution, arguing  that the application had been heard and determined by the Rivers State High Court and an order was granted on August 23, 2021.

The presiding judge, Justice Umar, ruled that the court has no cause to disagree with the submission of the applicant’s counsel that the constitution established one single High Court for each of the states of the federation.

The judge also conceded that Kebbi State High Court has no jurisdiction to hear and determine a matter that has been filed and determined in any High Court in Nigeria; saying that it is a court of coordinate jurisdiction

The court, therefore, concurred that counsel to the respondents failed to disclose to the court the true subject matter of the case, namely the suspension of Uche Secondus from the membership of the PDP by ward 5, Ikuru town in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Justice Umar noted that the court was misled by the failure of counsel to the respondents to disclose the true facts to the court, which necessitated the court granting the e-parte order on August 28, 2021, saying that the situation created by counsel to the respondents caused unnecessary embarrassment to the Nigerian judiciary.

The judges were invited for questioning by the CJN as the orders and counter orders from state high courts in Rivers State, Kebbi State and Cross River State persisted and continued to fuel the leadership crisis in the PDP.