Supreme Court Dismisses Appeals By Oshiomhole, Upholds Sack Of Igo Aguma

A file photo of the Supreme Court in Abuja.

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeals filed by a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, and the ex-caretaker committee chairman of the party in Rivers State, Igo Aguma over Mr. Aguma’s sack.

In a unanimous judgment, a five-man panel of the apex court upheld the December 29, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which set aside an earlier judgment of the high court of rivers state.

In the lead judgment prepared by Justice Adamu Jaoru, but read on by justice Amina Augie, the court held that the appeal was without merit because it was plagued with a litany of jurisdictional issues.

The Supreme Court said the judgment in the appeal by Mr. Aguma should be applied to the one filed by Mr. Oshiomhole, in which the former APC national chairman, among others, queried the jurisdiction of the Appeal Court in Abuja to have heard the case.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, in its December 29, 2020 judgment had set aside the June 2020 judgment of Justice George Omereji of the High Court of Rivers State in Port Harcourt and sacked Mr. Aguma as acting/caretaker committee chairman of APC in Rivers State.

The appeal court equally affirmed the appointment of Isaac Abbot Ogbobula as the caretaker committee chairman of the Rivers State APC.

It held that it is the exclusive right of the national working committee of the All Progressives Congress under the party’s constitution to appoint a caretaker committee for any organ of the party.