The National Youth Movement (NYM) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday, asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to disqualify Justice Okon Abang from handling the suit filed by the self-acclaimed chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff.
The group accused Sheriff of plotting to use the court to destroy the party.
Sheriff has been in and out of courts over the leadership crisis rocking the party.
This time, the sacked chairman of the PDP and eight others are asking the Federal High Court, Abuja, for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP from conducting the party’s national convention slated for August 17, 2016.
He also wanted an order restraining the PDP from presenting anybody or sponsoring any person for election into its offices pending determination of the suit and an ancillary order directing the Nigeria Police to enforce the orders of the court until all applications were disposed off.
It was on the basis of Sheriff’s legal action to stop the the forthcoming national convention of the PDP that the NYM of the party protested, seeking the intervention of the the chief judge of the Federal High Court.
The party had also gone to a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, with a suit challenging the power of Justice Abang to hear Sheriff’s case on the ground that there was a memo from the Chief Judge restraining all judges handling the PDP leadership tussle to stop further action pending the outcome of the appeals at the Court of Appeal.
The suit, which was filed at the registry of the court last Tuesday, has the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Auta and Justice Abang as respondents.
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi refused to grant the prayer of the party on the ground that the application lacked merit as the applicant, the PDP, was not a natural person and, as such, not entitled to fundamental human rights.
Meanwhile, the court process has been served on Justice Abang who is expected to hear the pending suit filed by Sheriff.