Court of Appeal Dismisses Turaki’s Appeal, Upholds Federal High Court Judgment

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal filed by Turaki and his group, thereby affirming the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court which nullified the controversial Ibadan convention.

The ruling was delivered by a three-member panel of the court led by Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, with Okechukwu Onyemenam and Muhammed Mustapha serving as members of the panel.

In a unanimous decision, the appellate court dismissed the appeal in its entirety and imposed a fine of N2 million on the appellants.

The court upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, which had declared the Ibadan convention invalid.

Delivering its judgment, the court ruled that when a political party fails or refuses to conduct its congresses or conventions in line with its constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act of Nigeria, such actions can no longer be regarded as internal party matters.

According to the court, such violations open the process to judicial review, as they affect both the integrity of internal party democracy and compliance with the legal framework regulating political parties.

The court further emphasized that any congress or convention conducted in breach of a party’s constitution and the Electoral Act cannot stand in the eyes of the law. It noted that allowing such processes to subsist would undermine both the rule of law and the principles guiding political party administration in Nigeria.