A federal high court sitting in Kano, Kano state has intervened in the ongoing leadership crisis rocking the ruling All-Progressives’ Congress (APC). The court halted the purported suspension of the party’s national chairman and former governor of Kano state, Engineer Abdullahi Ganduje, by party executives in his ward.
The ruling was granted late on Wednesday after Ganduje filed an ex-parte motion seeking to enforce his fundamental right to a fair hearing.
The respondents in the application are the police, the department of state services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and nine other individuals.
Recall that earlier in the week, on Monday, April 16th, APC executives in Dawakin ward, Tofa LGA of Kano state, announced the suspension of Ganduje from the APC pending the determination of the corruption suit brought against him by the current Kano state government.
Subsequently, the state working committee of the APC nullified the suspension and sanctioned the ward executives with a month’s suspension.
In the ex parte order delivered on wednesday by the court and made available to newsmen on Thursday, the presiding Judge, A.M Liman said the purported suspension should not be implemented until the case is heard and determined.
The judge ordered “that all the respondents, their servants, agents or privies are hereby restrained from implementing and/or giving effect to the purported decision reached during the purported emergency meeting of the alleged executive members of APC Ganduje Ward, held at Ganduje Ward of Dawakin Tofa Local.
“That all the parties are hereby mandated to maintain status quo before the purported emergency meeting of the alleged executive members of APC Ganduje Ward, and to stay action in respect of this matter pending the hearing and determination of the substantive application,”
The court subsequently fixed April 30th to hear Ganduje’s appeal.
