THE Supreme Court, on Friday, March 21, nullified the judgments of the Court of Appeal (Enugu Division) and Federal High Court, Enugu, which sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous judgment, read by Justice Jamilu Tukur, ruled that matters bordering on the leadership or membership of a political party is its internal affair and should not be the business of a court.
Justice Tukur subsequently affirmed the minority judgment of the appellate court, delivered by Justice Ekanem, which had nullified the judgment of the trial court on account of lack of jurisdiction.
It, therefore, set aside the decisions of the Appeal Court (Enugu Division) affirming the removal of Anyanwu by a Federal High Court in Enugu, saying
it lacked jurisdiction to have heard the matter instituted by Aniagwu Emmanuel.
The court held that the exceptional circumstances that would have given jurisdiction for the lower court to decide on the internal affairs of a political party were missing.
Exceptional circumstances, it added, include if the Nigerian constitution gives the court such jurisdiction, when there is the commission of a crime or violation of contractual rights, noting that Chief Sunday Udeh-Okoye, which was contending the position with Anyanwu, not being joined in the case means that Emmanuel lacked the legal rights to have instituted the matter at the Federal High in the first instance.
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