Barrister Julius Abure, the embattled National Chairman of the party, has approached the President of the Court of Appeal with an urgent request for accelerated hearing of his appeal and pending motion for injunction.
In a letter addressed to the Honourable President of the Court of Appeal, a copy of which was exclusively obtained by Spear News Nigeria, Abure is seeking the court’s intervention to halt what he describes as a campaign of “anarchy and chaos” being orchestrated by Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, the 1st respondent in the appeal.
The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/255/2026, challenges the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, delivered on 21st January 2026, which declared Senator Usman as the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize her as the sole authority representing the party.
According to the correspondence from Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, counsel to the appellants, the situation has escalated into a full-blown crisis despite the pendency of legal processes.
The letter reveals that although the appellants filed and served a Notice of Appeal dated 23rd January 2026 and a motion for stay of execution on the same date, the 1st respondent allegedly proceeded to act on the contested judgment.
“Despite service of these processes—Notice of Appeal and motion for stay on her, the 1st respondent, accompanied by violent thugs, forcefully invaded the National Secretariat of Labour Party on Tuesday, 10th February, 2026, under the guise of executing the judgment of the Federal High Court, notwithstanding and in defiance to the sanctity of the judicial process embodied by the pending appeal and motion for stay of execution,” the letter reads in part.
The appellants further allege that Senator Usman has since been parading herself as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, issuing correspondences, granting press interviews, and even making arrangements for ward, local government, and state congresses, as well as the party’s National Convention—all while the appeal remains pending before the Court of Appeal.
The appellants expressed grave concern that the 1st respondent’s actions, if not halted, will render the substantive appeal nugatory and cause irreparable damage to the party structure.
The letter attached a letter dated 3rd March 2026 signed by Senator Usman and addressed to INEC, as well as media reports publicizing her purported congress timelines, as evidence of her continued reliance on the lower court’s judgment.
“Besides the fact that the above-captioned appeal is a political matter, the indisputable facts outlined above demonstrate a compelling need for the court to urgently hear and determine the appellants’ motion of 10th March, 2026, as well as the said appeal, so as to preserve the res from dissipation and prevent continued reliance on the lower court’s judgment to orchestrate anarchy and chaos,” the letter stated.
The appellants, through their counsel, have humbly requested the President of the Court of Appeal to fix a date for the hearing of their motion on notice for injunction pending appeal, as well as the substantive appeal, noting the peculiar urgency of the matter.
“While we appreciate the very busy schedule of my Lord, the Honourable President of the Court of Appeal, the peculiar facts of this case have compelled the appellants to humbly request that a date be fixed,” the letter concluded.
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