There was a momentary confusion in court when a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who was not part of the Labour Party’s legal team, announced his appearance on behalf of the party on Friday.
The panel of Justices, who denied him recognition, criticized the senior advocate for causing confusion and remarked that he should have known better, especially since he did not mention his name. The advocate claimed that he had been given a brief to appear.
Before the incident unfolded, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, announced his appearance on behalf of himself and the party.
Earlier in the week, factions of the Labour Party had clashed in court when the Lamidi-Apapa-led group attended the proceedings, leading to confusion at the Presidential Election Petition Court.
It should be noted that the Federal High Court in Abuja had suspended Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the LP. The court restrained him and four others from presenting themselves as national officers of the party due to alleged document forgery, including court documents.
In the midst of the ongoing crisis, Lamidi Apapa assumed the role of acting chairman. However, there has been a dispute within the party ever since.
Prior to the court session on Wednesday, where the pre-hearing of the LP’s petition against the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, was scheduled to take place, the party’s different factions engaged in a verbal confrontation, each claiming to be the authentic faction.
The Apapa-led faction questioned the presence of party members loyal to Abure, citing the ruling of a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that suspended the Abure-led faction.
When the matter was eventually called in court, the Presidential Election Petition Court recognized only the 1st Petitioner, Peter Obi, who was present, and did not grant recognition to any of the factions or their representatives.
