Opponents of the immediate-past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday, withdrew their suit which gave rise to the March 4, 2020 interim court order suspending Oshiomhole from office.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on June 16, 2020 affirmed the interim order issued by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Jabi, Abuja.
While the main suit was still pending before the FCT High Court, the National Executive Committee dissolved the National Working Committee of the party led by Oshiomhole on June 25.
Parties to the suit were to return to the FCT High Court on Thursday for the continuation of the main case, when the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Oluwole Afolabi, told the judge, Justice Danlami Senchi, that his clients had decided to withdraw the suit.
Afolabi said the decision was in line with the directive of the APC leadership that all pending suits relating to the party’s leadership crisis be withdrawn.
Oshiomhole’s lawyer, Ginika Ezeoke, said she had no objection to the application to withdraw the suit on Wednesday.
Justice Senchi then made an order dismissing the suit.
The suit was instituted earlier this year by six applicants, including the then Vice-Chairman of the party, North-East, Mustapha Salihu, and the Chairman of the party in Edo State, Anslem Ojezua.
The rest are members of the executive committee of the party in Oshiomhole’s Ward 10 in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Oshiomhole had proceeded to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the FCT High Court.
But the Court of Appeal affirmed the FCT High Court’s ruling in a unanimous judgment of its three-man panel led by Justice Eunice Onyemanam, on June 16, 2020.
The legal battles were going on when the National Executive Committee of the party dissolved the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee of the party on June 25.
Conceding to the decision of the NEC of the party’s NEC which also set up a caretaker committee to manage the affairs of the party, Oshiomhole has also subsequently withdrawn his appeal to the Supreme Court and the motion for stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
(PUNCH)