Supreme Court Gives Final Ruling On SDP Leadership, Gabam

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal arising from the prolonged leadership dispute involving the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its former National Chairman, Shehu Gabam.

The apex court, in a ruling on Wednesday, dismissed the appeal, holding that no live issue remained for it to determine, according to SDP counsel, Prince Adewole Adebayo.

Naija News reports that Adebayo, who is also the SDP presidential candidate for the 2027 election, said this while speaking with journalists after the judgment in Abuja.

The legal dispute followed a judgment of the Federal High Court, which had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Gabam as the national chairman of the SDP.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the party took the matter before the Court of Appeal, which set aside the Federal High Court judgment.

The plaintiff in the original suit subsequently took the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal.

However, Adebayo said the apex court dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the circumstances surrounding the dispute had changed and there was no longer a live issue for the court to determine.

“The Supreme Court said there’s no live issue here, and dismissed the case. So that’s the end of anything to do with Gabam and all of that in SDP,” he said.

Explaining the background to the case, Adebayo said Gabam had already been removed from the party and had not instituted any legal challenge against his removal.

He said the original case was instead filed by another member of the SDP, who sought to have Gabam recognised as the party’s national chairman.

According to Adebayo, the development meant that the circumstances upon which the original suit was based had subsequently changed.

He added that the SDP had challenged the Federal High Court judgment at the Court of Appeal, which eventually overturned the lower court’s decision.

With the Supreme Court now dismissing the appeal, the SDP said the latest ruling has brought the prolonged litigation over Gabam’s disputed leadership to a close.

The party’s National Chairman, Sadiq Umar Gombe, also described the Supreme Court judgment as a victory for the SDP and democracy.