A Federal High Court in Sokoto dismissed a lawsuit filed by former African Democratic Congress (ADC) state chairman Umar Faruk and other party members seeking to restore Faruk to the party’s substantive state chairmanship.
Justice Ahmad Gama delivered the ruling on Friday, finding no sufficient basis to grant the four reliefs requested by the plaintiffs. The case, filed in July, alleged that new entrants had taken over the ADC’s structure in Sokoto State.
In his judgment, Justice Gama rejected the claimants’ arguments, citing a lack of merit and evidence. He also noted that the court could not intervene in the internal affairs of a political party and that the plaintiffs had not exhausted the ADC’s internal dispute‑resolution procedures before approaching the court.
Gama further held that the claimants had failed to demonstrate that their fundamental human rights had been breached, a prerequisite for the reliefs sought.
“A litigant cannot win a case without proving it with substantial evidence,” said Suleiman Usman, SAN, counsel to the respondents. “The decision will support democratic institutions and the application of the rule of law in Nigeria. The judgment has deepened our democratic system and constitutional jurisprudence in the country.”
The lawsuit stemmed from disagreements over who should control the ADC’s Sokoto chapter, with Faruk and the other claimants challenging the party’s current leadership arrangement.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>