Court Rejects Pro-Inuwa Lawsuit Challenging Katsina PDP Congresses

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) group led by Dr. Mustapha Inuwa filed a lawsuit against the state’s ward, local government, and state congresses, but the Katsina High Court rejected it.

The conduct of the July and August 2024 PDP congresses held in the state has been the subject of a legal dispute between Inuwa’s supporters and those of Senator Yakubu Lado, a candidate for governor.

Along with eight other people, Inuwa, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), filed a lawsuit in the state High Court, requesting that the court prevent the party from holding congresses due to their inability to obtain the necessary documents.

According to the plaintiffs, they brought the lawsuit on behalf of 7,905 other party members who were unhappy with how the state’s congresses were run.

However, the PDP, the suit’s respondent, submitted a preliminary objection through its attorney, Isaac Nwachukwu, asking the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs had the necessary authority and competence to bring the lawsuit.

Justice Abbas Bawale, the presiding judge, rejected the plaintiffs’ application in his ruling yesterday, stating that the court lacked the authority to consider the case.

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Citing pertinent sources, the judge decided that the party’s congresses were mostly internal issues that the court shouldn’t become involved in.

He went on to say that the court only considers cases based on complaints from party primaries in compliance with the country’s Electoral Act, 2022, as modified.

But when contacted, Mustapha Shitu-Mahuta, the plaintiffs’ attorney, claimed that the state PDP congresses were unlawfully held and flagrantly violated the party’s constitution.

Shitu-Mahuta pledged to appeal Justice Bawale’s decision to the appellate court while voicing his clients’ displeasure with the ruling.