The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the December 22, 2024, majority judgment of the Court of Appeal in Enugu, which sacked Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, was unanimous in a judgment on Friday that both the High Court of Enugu State and the Court of Appeal in Enugu lacked the jurisdiction to have heard the suit.
Justice Jamilu Tukur, in the lead judgment, held that the issues in the suit filed by Emmanuel Aniagwu at the High Court of Enugu State bordered on matters relating to the internal affairs of the PDP, which are not justiciable and over which no court has jurisdiction.
Justice Tukur also held that Anyanwu’s participation in the last governorship election in Imo State as the candidate of the PDP was pursuant to the approval of the party’s leadership, contrary to Aniagwu’s claim.
He equally found that Aniagwu lacked the locus standi (the legal right) to have instituted the suit, having not shown the injury he suffered or how Anyanwu’s conduct affected him personally, describing him as a busybody and an interloper.
Justice Tukur also noted that S. K. E. Ude-Okoye, who would have been the beneficiary of the case, was not made a party.
He affirmed the minority judgment of the Enugu division of the Court of Appeal, delivered by Justice Ekanem, in which he held that the court lacked the requisite jurisdiction to hear the case.
Justice Tukur proceeded to strike out the suit filed by Aniagwu before the High Court of Enugu State for want of jurisdiction.
