Justice Abdullahi Bawa-Faskari of the Katsina State High Court Wednesday dismissed the suit seeking the removal of Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A member of the opposition PDP, Ibrahim Musa, had approached the court, claiming that the replacement of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu with Damagum was against the constitutional provisions of the party.
The plaintiff further argued that the replacement of Ayu should be from the North-central geo-political zone of the country where the ex-PDP national chairman hails from.
But Justice Bawa-Faskari, during Wednesday’s ruling, struck out the suit number KTH/74/24 on the grounds that it was solemnly the internal affairs of the party and the court has no jurisdiction.
He upheld the preliminary objection of the first and second defendants, noting that the “matter is not justiciable being one which falls entirely within the internal affairs of the party and the court has no jurisdiction”.
Speaking on the ruling, the counsel to the respondent, Isaac Nwachukwu, lauded the court for dismissing the suit, adding that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case.
However, the counsel to the plaintiff, Abdullahi Abdulkadir, vowed to challenge the ruling before the Court of Appeal after scrutinising the certified copy of the judgment.