By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has commended the Nigerian judiciary for demonstrating courage, independence and fidelity to the Constitution in the face of what he described as sustained attempts by desperate political actors to weaponise the courts against the opposition.
Reacting to the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Liman, which struck out the suit challenging the leadership of the ADC, Atiku who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the decision as a victory not merely for the party but for constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
According to him, the court’s decision reaffirmed the settled legal principle that political parties are governed by their constitutions and that internal disputes must first be resolved through the mechanisms provided therein. “The court could not have been clearer. It rightly held that the matter borders on the internal affairs of the ADC, that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction, and that the plaintiffs neither exhausted the internal remedies provided by the party’s constitution nor established the locus standi required to invoke the jurisdiction of the court,” the statement read.
