In his lead judgment, Justice Fadawu Umaru declared the judgment of Justice M.G. Umar in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026 null and void.

The development followed an appeal filed by the SDP leadership under Prof Abubakar Sadiq Gombe against the Federal High Court judgment recognising Gabam as the party’s National Chairman.

The Court of Appeal held that the basis upon which the Federal High Court delivered its judgment was faulty, noting that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the matter in favour of Sadiq’s leadership.

Speaking after the judgment, SDP presidential candidate and counsel to the appellants, Prince Adewole Adebayo, said the appellate court unanimously ruled in favour of the SDP in all six applications considered during the proceedings.

He said the Court of Appeal also declared the Federal High Court judgment recognising Gabam null and void because it contradicted an earlier decision of the Supreme Court.

“Today, the Court of Appeal set aside the Federal High Court judgment which our former National Chairman and former and expelled member, Mr Shehu Musa Gabam, was using to compel INEC to recognise him as National Chairman, even though he has been expelled from the party, and to recognise another expelled former member as an acting National Secretary,” Adebayo said.

“In Today’s judgment by the Court of Appeal, six applications by the parties were considered, and the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in favour of the SDP in all the applications.

“And the substantive appeal, the Court of Appeal took two decisions.

“One, that the judgment of the court recognising Shehu Gabam of the Federal High Court is null and void; it’s a nullity because it contradicts the decision earlier delivered by the Supreme Court on May 22, 2026, and no court in Nigeria and no person in Nigeria can contradict the Supreme Court.

“So, to the extent that the judge, Justice Umar of the Federal High Court, even entertained any question about the leadership of the SDP or even the opportunity to recognise our court hearing to Shehu Gabam and his team, it is null and void.

“Secondly, the court affirmed that Ajala, Dr Francis Ajala, having been nominated by the SDP as its governorship candidate in Osun State, the Federal High Court was wrong to even listen to the plaintiff, Salahu, who claims to be the SDP candidate for Gabam.”

Adebayo described the judgment as the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle over the leadership of the party.

He said the judiciary had played a significant role in resolving the dispute and providing guidance to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“That’s the summary of the long four hours of delivery. And you have to note that prior to these six rulings being made Today and the judgment of the Court of Appeal, last week the court itself had entertained a lot of applications,” he said.

“So, the judiciary has done very well for Nigeria and has guided INEC very well.

“I can tell you categorically, subject to the will of God, you will never hear of any leadership dispute in the SDP for the next 100 years. That is over and settled.

“It is how to get rid of Tinubu and his calamitous government that is now the agenda before the party and the people of Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, SDP National Chairman, Prof. Gombe, commended the judiciary for what he described as the expedited resolution of the case.

Gombe said INEC should respect the internal affairs and candidate-selection decisions of all registered political parties.

He said, “I hope, just as the presidential candidate, and I hope just as Dr Adebayo has said, he has said it all about the ruling, about what is the needful that INEC is supposed to do.

“And INEC will not just—we are not just calling on INEC to respect SDP alone, to respect all the political parties, the 22 registered political parties, and respect their internal affairs, respect their decisions about candidate selection and whatsoever.

“And I also want to use the opportunity to thank the judiciary for the expeditious way they were able to carry out this judgment in just about four or five days.

“And also, I want to use this opportunity to most profoundly thank our presidential candidate, who led the legal team, for the wonderful job they have done for the party, not just for the party but for our democracy and our nation.

“Indeed, this is something that will affect not only democracy in Nigeria but in other countries in Africa.

“Nigeria is not just for Nigeria in Africa. Nigeria, just like Nelson Mandela said, if we have exactly the right in Nigeria, we are going to get the right in Africa and the Black Nation are going to get the right.

“So, I would also use this opportunity to thank INEC for being ahead and doing the task of reproducing the ballot and including the SDP candidate even before Today’s meeting.

“Finally, I want to use the opportunity to thank you most sincerely, the media, for all the cooperation you accorded to us over the last one year of flux.

“You have seen and gone through all the challenges we have faced, and we have been up and doing, always very cooperative and reporting our issues very positively.

“So, we thank you most sincerely, and we hope this will continue and we are not going to take this for granted.

“Going forward, I hope you are going to do everything possible to continue to enlighten the public towards having three fair and credible 2027 general elections, with the SDP leading the pack of the other political parties in this country.”

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the Federal Government against using state institutions to tilt the Osun governorship election in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Atiku described the poll as a critical test of Nigeria’s democratic credentials, warning that the scale and posture of security deployment around the election risked making a civil democratic exercise look like a military operation.

Speaking at the ADC National Youth Leadership Summit in Abuja, he said the conduct of the Osun election would send a strong signal about Nigeria’s readiness to deliver credible elections ahead of the next general election.

“Elections are civil engagements, not military operations. Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents,” he said.

Atiku questioned why such overwhelming security capacity was being deployed for an election when terrorists, kidnappers and bandits continue to attack communities and kill Nigerians.

He also cautioned INEC against any attempt to frustrate voters or compromise the integrity of the process through technical failures, unexplained delays or opaque handling of results.

The former vice president demanded the timely arrival of electoral materials, unhindered voting, honest counting and transparent transmission of results.

“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC,” he declared.

Atiku said the eyes of Nigerians and the international community would be on Osun, urging all institutions involved in the election to allow voters to freely determine the outcome.

“The world is watching Osun. Nigerians are watching. History is taking notes. Let the people vote. Let every vote count. And let the will of the people prevail,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate also returned to the controversy surrounding the Chicago State University certificate President Bola Tinubu submitted to INEC, demanding clarification of what he described as discrepancies in documents linked to the certificate.

Atiku said the certificate submitted to INEC reportedly bears June 22, 1979, while another document produced in connection with Chicago State University records bears June 27, 1979. He also pointed to reported differences in the signatures and description of the degree.

He questioned the appearance on documents dated 1979 of names or signatures associated with university officials whose tenures reportedly began years later, asking whether replacement certificates were subsequently produced and, if so, who authorised them.

Atiku cited Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution, which provides for disqualification where a presidential candidate has presented a forged certificate to INEC, arguing that the precise document submitted to the electoral commission should be authenticated.

“Who produced the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC? When was it produced? Who authorised it? Why does it differ from the other version, and does Chicago State University authenticate the exact document submitted to INEC?” he asked.

He argued that the standard expected of an ordinary Nigerian seeking employment should not be lowered for someone seeking the country’s highest political office.

“If a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?” Atiku asked.

On youth participation, Atiku pledged that at least 30 per cent of legislative candidates under his political programme would be below 40, with a significant number below 30.

He urged young Nigerians to turn their frustration into organised political participation rather than stopping at social media activism.

“Anger is not an organisation. A hashtag is not an organisation,” Atiku said, urging young Nigerians to move beyond online expressions of frustration and take an active role in shaping the country’s political future

The National Chairman of the People Redemption Party, PRP, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is giving the rights of the North to the South-West without resistance because northern leaders have aligned with him.

Baba-Ahmed made the claim in an interview on Symfoni TV.

📱 Continue reading on the Daily Post app →
Free • No sign-up • Read the full story in the app