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The Peoples Democratic Party PDP, has been charged by the Supreme Court of cyberbullying.

This was declared by the Supreme Court on Friday when it handed down its ruling in a PDP appeal that sought to invalidate Bola Tinubu’s election as president-elect on the grounds that his running mate, Kashim Shettima, had engaged in double nominating himself.

Inyang Okoro, a justice of the supreme court, pointed out that the PDP was misleading the public through social media while delivering the ruling.

The five-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and determined that the appellant lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.

According to Okoro, the appellant attempted to deceive the supreme court by asserting that the lower court had determined that there had been a duplicate nomination.

Delivering judgement, the judge said, “The appellant stated to this court that the court below found that there was indeed double nomination and that the 4th respondent knowingly allowed himself to be nominated in two constituencies,” Okoro said.

“I have searched the entirety of the record and indeed the judgement of the court below and there is no such finding. To think that learned senior counsel will mislead the court is sad.

“For public policy sake, I must state that indeed the 4th (Shettima) respondent withdrew from the nomination for Borno central district on the 6th of July 2022 exhibited as exhibit APC 1 on page 58 of the record of appeal.

“The political party sent to the INEC same 6th of July, 2022 the notice of withdrawal. The political party further sent on the 10th of July 2022, a notification of dates for the conduct of fresh primaries for the senatorial district and the latter letter exhibit APC2 on page 59 of the record carried the reference of Exhibit APC1.

“That is as at the 6th of July, 2022 there was no longer nomination of the 4th respondent for Borno central senatorial district and there could not have been double nomination on the 14th of July 2022.

Speaking further, Inyang condemned the opposition party for exploiting social media to bully justices of the apex court.

“Using the social media to terrorise and bully the justices of the supreme court by the appellant is appalling and unprofessional.

“The appeal is without merit and is dismissed. I abide by the award of cost in the lead judgement.”

A State High Court in Edo dismissed the notice of suspension against Julius Abure, the Labour Party’s embattled national chairman, on Friday. The notice had been issued by certain party members at the ward level.

Justice Emmanuel Aihamoje, the court, dismissed the case on Friday because it lacked merit.

This was said in a statement released on Friday in Abuja by the party’s acting national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, who also revealed that Abure and the executives of LP Ward 3 in Esan North East, Edo State, filed the case.

Aihamoje ruled that the party ward executive in Uromi in ward 3 lacked the authority required by the Labour Party Constitution, in particular Acts 13 & 17 and the Electoral Act of 2022, as amended, to depose the party’s national chairperson in his nearly two-hour-long decision.

In order to prevent Lamidi Apapa and his side from ousting or suspending Abure as the national chairman until a new national convention of the party is called, the judge in Suit No. HUC/21/2023 went ahead and issued a perpetual injunction.

Aihamoje added that the alleged Wards 3 executive’s decision to suspend the party’s national chairperson was made beyond the bounds of its authority under the Labour Party Constitution.

Thompson Ehiguese, the chairman of the Labour Party for Ward 3, responded to the decision by telling reporters present at the courthouse that it had put a stop to swindlers posing as Labour Party members in the ward.

He said, “These charlatans claiming to be members of our party are from Edo North and members of APC. I want to use this medium to congratulate the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement that stood firmly with Comrade Julius Abure while the sponsored crisis in our great party lasted.

“The judgement is explicitly clear that Barrister Julius Abure remains the national Chairman until the party convention holds next year. Nothing can change our collective resolve to reclaim Nigerian masses’ mandate freely given to Mr Peter Obi and the party in the last presidential election.

On his part, Edo State Labour Party Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi, affirmed that Labour party has been vindicated, adding that the court has confirmed Apapa and his faction are ‘tragic power seekers.’

“Apapa, who before then was a deputy national chairman and a custodian of the constitution of the party, knew that the act of those who came to Abuja to announce the suspension of the national chairman was not doing so legally, since the action was an aberration to the provisions of the party’s constitution, instead, he ran to the court, seeking ex-parte motion to restrain the national chairman.

“Today they have been basically told that the charade can no longer be entertained by the court”, he said.