A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mallam Bibi Dogo has suggested that all members who institute court cases against the party should be sanctiond and suspended from the party.
Bibi Dogo, who is one of the founding members of the party, stated this today in Bauchi when he interacted with journalists.
He said the party should consider court case instituted against it by members as inimical to the successes of the party’s laudable achievements.
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Bibi Dogo and the party were disturbed by the suit instituted in Bauchi State High Court between Usman Yahuza Abdullahi and PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, Senator Suleiman Nazif, Mr. Yemi Akinwonmi and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The plaintiff sought a relief in the form of an order of court that the tenure of Prince Uche Secondus, having been put in abeyance by operation of law in view of his valid, lawful and subsisting suspension, the fourth defendant Mr. Yemi Akinwonmi or in his absence by reason of incapacitation on grounds of ill-health, the third defendant Senator Suleman Nazif shall forthwith assume the position and exercise the powers.
There were allegations that the case was heard by Bauchi High Court 9 presided by Justice Sa’ad Mohammed Sambowal where the plaintiffs prayed the court to grant substituted service, and to abridge the period of notice from 30 days as required by Law to three days.
“All the prayers sought were denied. The plaintiff thereafter filed a notice of withdrawal/discontinuance which the court granted. Surprisingly the case re-surfaced in Azare High Court 4 presided by Justice Aliyu Baba Usman, and on the 5th of October, 2021 all the prayers sought were granted”
Bibi Dogo said it is embrassing and worrisome that some members will take a problem that’s supposed to be an internal concern of the party to court without exhausting all parties mechanism of resolving differences.
He said any PDP member with genuine interest in the party must not make himself available to be used by elements that want to slow down party progress through needless litigation.
Bibi Dogo advised the State and National Executive Council of PDP to sanction any member, no matter how highly placed, who, through court cases constitute themselves as a cog in the wheel of progress of the party, adding that some members had been expelled from the party in the recent past for same reason.
He urged the party not to repeat its mistake and to do all it could to be fair to all members as well as assure that all those aggrieved would get justice using the party’s internal mechanism and not through the court.
He advised the state Chief Judge Justice Rabi Talatu Umar to ensure synergy between her office and office of all High court Judges, and she should ensure regular training of judges in the state in order to avoid embrassing situation where Judges will be giving conflicting orders.
Bibi Dogo also urged the state Chief Judge to lodge a complaint to the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate Justice Aliyu Baba Usman and the circumstances that led him to hear and grant reliefs over a case concerning the removal of Uche Secondus as the national chairman of the party since it was alleged that the case was neither listed nor assigned to the judge by the State Chief Judge.
He alleged that the Judge erred in law because he entertained a case that he has no jurisdiction over because it’s clear that State High Courts can’t entertain suits that involve Federal Institutions, only Federal High Court has jurisdiction to entertain suit that involve Federal Institutions and in the purported suit in question INEC is one of the defendant. So the Judge erroneously gave the order on the case.
