The supreme court has directed David Mark, a former senate president, to return to the federal high court for the hearing and determination of issues arising from the leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Delivering a unanimous judgment on Thursday, a five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Mohammed Garba, faulted the order of the court of appeal which asked parties in the suit to maintain status quo.
The court subsequently allowed the appeal and nullified the order sustaining the status quo ante bellum in the dispute involving rival factions of the ADC leadership.
The judgment arose from the legal battle over the party’s leadership structure, including the legitimacy of appointments and congresses conducted by opposing factions within the party.
Justice Garba, in the judgment, explained that the trial court’s directive maintaining the status quo ante bellum was essentially a preservative order intended to prevent parties from taking steps capable of foisting a fait accompli on the court while proceedings were ongoing.
The justice, however, held that such powers must be exercised only in relation to live proceedings.
According to him, once proceedings have been “fully, faithfully, conclusively and finally concluded,” there would be “nothing left for that court to preserve.”
