Sulaiman & Ors v. APC & Ors (2022)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

JOHN INYANG OKORO, J.S.C. (Delivering the Lead Judgment)

This appeal is a fallout of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, holden at Abuja, delivered on 17th February, 2022 by H. S. Tsammani, B. A. Georgewill (delivering the lead judgment) and B. l. Gafai JJCA wherein the appeal of these 4th and 5th Respondents was allowed and the judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in suit No. FCT/HC/CV/2030/2021: Muttaka Bala Sulaiman & 17,907 Ors v All Progressives Congress & Ors, delivered on 30/11/2021 was set aside.

The Appellants’ grievance which led to the commencement of the action arose from the disagreement between the parties regarding the conduct of the 1st Respondent’s Ward Congress in 484 wards of Kano State which was held on 31/7/ 2021.

​The facts as rendered by the Appellants are that the 1st Respondent vide a letter dated 29/7/2021 and signed by the 3rd Respondent, the National Secretary, Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, constituted a 7 man Ward Congress Committee (WCC), to conduct ward congress in 484 wards of the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State in compliance with the APC Constitution and Guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2010.

The 6th and 7th Respondents were the Chairman and Secretary of that Committee, respectively while the 8th and 9th Respondents were members.

That Committee during the said congress conducted election to select ward delegates in preparation for the National Convention of the party which subsequently held on 26th March, 2022. The Appellants purchased forms for the said congress election, participated as candidates and won the election as delegates for their respective wards.

The 6th – 9th Respondents thereafter submitted a report of the election in Exhibit “F” attaching thereto the results of the election having the names of the Appellants as Exhibits J1 – J484 to the 1st – 5th Respondents at the 1st Respondent’s National Secretariat at Abuja. However, the Appellants later discovered that the report submitted by the 6th and 7th Respondents was not exhibit “F” but a false report, in exhibit “G”, without the names of the Appellants.

​Their affidavit further disclosed that exhibit “G” had 7 names including fresh 3 names of persons who were not part of the initial 7- man ward congress committee originally constituted for the conduct of the congress elections, but were used to replace 3 original members of the “ward congress committee” by the “state congress committee.”

This State Congress Committee came up with a “stakeholders” decision for a consensus candidate, thereby jettisoning the report and result of the ward congress elections in exhibit “F” and 3 series for exhibit “G” which had no election results attached to it

On the part of the Respondents, the fact as gleanable from their counter affidavit is that the 1st Respondent approved the appointment of a 7 man ward congress committee vide its letter of 29/7/2021 with the 6th and 7th Respondents as chairman and secretary, respectively to superintend its ward congress in the 484 wards of Kano State.

The wards congress was successfully conducted and supervised by Independent National Electoral Commission in strict compliance with the Constitution and Guidelines of the party.

​Curiously, the 8th and 9th Respondents who were merely members of the committee, but who did not travel to Kano for the exercise and were replaced by Alhaji Ibrahim Sheehu, Barr. Yakubu Kirfi and Mustapha Abdul Saulawa usurped the powers of the 6th and 7th Respondents as chairman and secretary of the committee and without their authorization signed exhibit “F” as though it was the authentic report of the committee. Howbeit, the 6th and 7th Respondents who were the authentic chairman and secretary of the committee endorsed exhibit “G”.

The 2nd – 5th Respondents accepted and acknowledged exhibit “G” as the authentic report of the committee whilst they out rightly rejected the report in exhibit “F” and J series as falsely authored by impostors.

The Appellants therefore initiated the actions vide an originating summons to seek recognition by the Respondents as those duly elected from the ward congress election of 31/7/2021 as follows:-