The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, dismissed the fresh suit filed by a factional National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, after he applied to withdraw the matter.
At the resumed hearing, Anyanwu’s lawyer, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, told the court that the suit had been overtaken by events.
“We don’t think it is proper for a matter that has been overtaken by events to continue. In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the court’s time,” he said.
The dispute over the office of the PDP National Secretary began when Anyanwu vacated the office to contest the 2023 Imo State governorship election, which he lost.
However, when the case was called for hearing on Tuesday, Anyanwu, through his lawyer, opted to withdraw the suit, bringing the prolonged legal battle to an end.
Responding, counsel for the second defendant, Akintayo Balogun, argued that “the suit ought not to have been instituted in the first place,” urging the court to dismiss it with costs.
He added that the application for costs was still subsisting, requesting N1m.
Counsel for the third defendant, M. O. Akpan, said he had no objection and aligned his argument with that of the second defendant, while asking for N1.5m as costs.
Ugochukwu Okanu, who appeared for the fourth defendant, also aligned with the submissions of the second defendant and requested N1m as costs.
Counsel for the sixth defendant, J. A. Musa, said he did not object and similarly asked for N1m.
In his reply, Njemanze-Aku said the withdrawal was not a voluntary discontinuation but was due to circumstances beyond the plaintiff’s control.
“We owe a duty to the court. It is not fair to penalise the plaintiff,” he said, urging the court to allow the parties to bear their own costs.
Delivering his ruling, the presiding judge dismissed the suit, adding “Since you have joined issues, I am going to dismiss this matter. The matter is hereby dismissed”.
On the issue of costs, the court declined all the requests, stating, “The delay is not on any of the parties. The situation made it so. For this reason, I award no cost.”
