By Abubakar Yunusa
The national leadership of the Action Alliance has dismissed a recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Osogbo which declared Adekunle Rufai Omoaje as the party’s authentic national chairman.
In a statement on Tuesday, the party described the ruling as “fraudulent”, accusing Omoaje of “forum shopping” after losing several cases in Abuja courts that affirmed Chief Kenneth Udeze as the rightful leader.
The party’s National Secretary, Vernimbe James, said both the trial court and the Court of Appeal had delivered six separate judgments in favour of Udeze’s National Executive Committee.
“After losing various suits at the FCT High Court, the Federal High Court in Abuja and the Court of Appeal, Omoaje clandestinely ran to Osogbo to obtain a fraudulent judgment,” the statement read.
It alleged that Omoaje failed to disclose existing superior court judgments while filing a new suit in Osogbo against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), using the party’s name “without consent or authority” and excluding Udeze’s leadership from the case.
The party also noted that Omoaje already has a pending appeal before the Supreme Court (Appeal No: SC/CV/162/2024), adding that seeking a fresh ruling in Osogbo amounted to an attempt to undermine the judicial process.
“After losing all his cases in Abuja, where the party’s headquarters is located, he decided to run to a court unfamiliar with the history of the leadership tussle, where he could secretly sue himself and obtain favourable judgments,” the party alleged.
AA stressed that the Osogbo decision could not override existing judgments from the FCT High Court, the Federal High Court in Abuja, and the Court of Appeal, all of which upheld Udeze’s leadership.
It further urged INEC to ignore Omoaje’s claims, insisting the commission was already aware of the valid court rulings recognising Udeze as the party’s national chairman.
“We demand that INEC not accord any recognition to Adekunle Rufai Omoaje or give credence to his mischievous attempts to undermine the Nigerian judiciary,” the party said.
The statement also called on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer all Action Alliance-related cases secretly filed outside Abuja back to the Abuja division to prevent conflicting judgments.
