Court Dismisses Pro-Mustapha Suit Against Katsina PDP Congresses 

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The Katsina High Court has struck out a suit filed by the Dr. Mustapha Inuwa-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the conduct of the party’s ward, local government and state congresses in the state.

Inuwa’s loyalists and those loyal to a serial governorship contestant in the state, Senator Yakubu Lado, had been locked in a legal battle over the conduct of the July and August 2024 PDP congresses held in the state.

Inuwa, a former Secretary to the State Government alongside eight others, had filed the suit before the state High Court, asking the court to restrain the party from conducting the congresses over their inability to access forms for the exercise.

The plaintiffs said they filed the suit on behalf of 7,905 other members of the party who were aggrieved with the manner in which the congresses were conducted in the state.

But the PDP, which is the defendant in the suit, filed a preliminary objection through its counsel, Mr Isaac Nwachukwu, seeking the court to strike out the suit on grounds of lack of jurisdiction and competence by the plaintiffs to file the litigation. 

Delivering judgment on the matter Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, struck out the plaintiffs’ application on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The judge, who cited relevant authorities on the matter, ruled that the party’s congresses were mainly internal affairs of the party which the court should not meddle into.

He added that the court only entertains cases bordering on grievances as a result of party primaries in accordance with the provisions of the nation’s Electoral Act, 2022, as amended.

However, when contacted, the counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. Mustapha Shitu-Mahuta, argued that the state PDP congresses were illegally conducted with a gross violation of the party’s constitution.

While expressing his clients’ dissatisfaction with the judgment, Shitu-Mahuta vowed to challenge Justice Bawale’s judgment at the appellate court.