Nasarawa PDP Crisis: Onawo group rejects appeal court ruling, heads to supreme court
By Yahaya Idris
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) group led by Sen. Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo representing Nasarawa South District in the Senate, has fashioned out plans to appeal the decision of the Appeal Court delivered in Makurdi because they are dissatisfied with the ruling. This move follows a pattern seen in other PDP legal battles, where the party and its candidates have consistently challenged judgments they believe do not reflect the will of their supporters or the evidence presented in court.
In a statement on Monday, Comrade Idris Ojoko, who announced Onawo Group decision said the group intends to pursue all available legal avenues to seek redress and ensure their grievances are addressed at a higher judicial level
Ojoko noted that decision to appeal the case at the Supreme Court was announced immediately after the Appeal Court dismissed the case on grounds of jurisdiction and internal party affairs principles.
This followed the appellate court ruling that the matter pertained to internal party issues, which are generally outside the jurisdiction of the courts at that level.
“Consequently, the PDP group led by Sen. Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo resolved to take the matter to the Supreme Court to challenge the appellate court’s jurisdictional dismissal and seek a final resolution.”
The Sen. Onawo-led PDP group, alongside other prominent party members, filed a case at the Nasarawa State High Court in Doma seeking to challenge the processes that led to the conduct of PDP congresses in the state.
The court, presided over by Justice Abdullahi Hassan Shams Shama, granted an interim order-delivered via substituted service-that halted all PDP congress activities in Nasarawa State, pending further hearing scheduled for October 3, 2024.
While the Doma court was set to rule on the matter, the respondents filed an interlocutory appeal at the appellate court in Makurdi. This move effectively shifted the legal contest to the appellate level, even as the Doma High Court had already issued an injunction stopping the congresses.
The legal dispute involves several key PDP stakeholders, including Senators Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo and Suleiman Asonya Adokwe, and targets the party’s state leadership and working committee
