By Nkechi Eze
The leadership of the Action Alliance (AA) has strongly rejected what it described as a fraudulent judgement obtained from the Federal High Court in Osogbo by one Adekunle Rufai Omoaje and his cohorts, purporting to affirm them as authentic leaders of the party. The party said the judgement was secretly procured against subsisting and superior rulings of the FCT High Court, the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, and the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, all of which had long settled the matter of leadership in favour of Chief Barrister Kenneth Udeze and his National Executive Committee (NEC).
In an official statement signed by the National Secretary of the party, Vernimbe A. James, the leadership of Action Alliance explained that it was compelled to respond to the media publications on the Osogbo court judgement in order to properly guide the public, the media, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agencies, and to set the records straight.
The statement recalled that the question of who is the authentic National Chairman and national leadership of the Action Alliance had been conclusively determined in favour of Chief Barrister Kenneth Udeze’s NEC by a series of binding court judgements. These include the FCT High Court judgement in Suit Number FCT/HC/CV/2022 between Chief Uzewuru Nwachukwu and Kenneth Udeze & 2 ORS, delivered on 28 March 2022 by Justice Eleojo Enenche; the Federal High Court Abuja judgement in Suit Number FHC/ABJ/CS/312/2024 between Honourable Fredrick Igwiwiyisi and Osaro Uwaifo & 2 ORS, delivered on 19 July 2024 by Justice Emeka Nwite; and the Federal High Court Abuja judgement in Suit Number FHC/ABJ/CS/626/2024 between Action Alliance, Miller C. Orgwu (for himself and all NEC members elected at the AA Elective National Convention of 7 October 2023 in Abeokuta) and INEC, Kenneth Udeze, and James Vernimbe, delivered on 24 September 2024 by Justice Joyce O. Abdulmalik.
Also cited were Court of Appeal judgements, including the Abuja Division ruling in Appeal Number CA/ABJ/CV/955/2022 between Adekunle Rufai Omoaje & ORS and Chief Uzewuru Nwachukwu, Kenneth Udeze, AA, and INEC, delivered on 26 January 2024 by Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Adebusola I. Banjoko, and Peter Chudi Obiorah; the ruling in Appeal Number CA/ABJ/CV/869/2024 between Hon. Frederic Igwiwiyisi and Osaro Uwaifo, AA, and INEC, delivered on 6 September 2024 by Justices Cordelia Ifeoma Jombo Ofo, Samuel Ademola Bola, and Kenneth Ikechukwu Amadi; as well as Appeal Number CA/ABJ/CV/1163/2024 between Action Alliance, Miller C. Orgwu (for himself and NEC members elected at the Abeokuta convention) and INEC, Kenneth Udeze, and James Vernimbe, delivered on 13 November 2024 by Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Adebukunola Adeoti Banjoko, and Abba Bello Mohammed.
According to the AA leadership, these judgements conclusively established Chief Barrister Kenneth Udeze as the authentic National Chairman of the party. The statement condemned Adekunle Rufai Omoaje for resorting to “forum shopping” after losing multiple suits at the FCT High Court, the Abuja Federal High Court, and the Court of Appeal. In particular, it highlighted that both the Federal High Court Abuja and the Court of Appeal had refused recognition of the purported 7 October 2023 National Convention of the party held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where Omoaje claimed to have been elected National Chairman with his own executives.
The party accused Omoaje and his allies of secretly filing a fresh suit in the Osogbo Division of the Federal High Court against only INEC, fraudulently using the name of the Action Alliance without the consent of its authentic leadership and without joining the Udeze-led NEC. It alleged that Omoaje deliberately suppressed material facts about existing superior judgements, and thereby procured a judgement that directly contradicts subsisting rulings of the FCT High Court, the Federal High Court Abuja, and the Court of Appeal.
The statement stressed that such a judgement “cannot stand” given the hierarchy of courts in Nigeria. “The Federal High Court Osogbo cannot upturn the Abuja Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal judgement that settled the AA leadership tussle in favour of Chief Barr. Kenneth Udeze,” it declared.
It further revealed that the same Omoaje currently has a pending appeal at the Supreme Court challenging one of the Court of Appeal rulings that affirmed Udeze’s leadership, in Appeal Number SC/CV/162/2024 between Adekunle Rufai Omoaje & ORS and Chief Uzewuru Nwachukwu, Kenneth Udeze, AA, and INEC. Rather than await the final decision of the Supreme Court, the party said, Omoaje went to Osogbo in search of a favourable ruling.
The Udeze-led NEC has therefore called on INEC to disregard the Osogbo judgement and continue its recognition of the authentic leadership affirmed by the Court of Appeal. It also urged the Commission to caution Omoaje and his group to await the outcome of their Supreme Court appeal instead of engaging in judicial forum shopping.
In addition, the party appealed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer all Action Alliance-related cases secretly filed by Omoaje and his allies in different judicial divisions to the Abuja Division, where other AA matters are already pending, in order to avoid conflicting judgements from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
The statement reassured party faithful across Nigeria and beyond to remain calm and law-abiding, stressing that the leadership under Chief Barrister Kenneth Udeze has already directed its team of lawyers to take all necessary legal steps to vacate the “fraudulent” Osogbo judgement.
