Pinnick vs Giwa: Supreme Court quashes Appeal Court’s decision

The Supreme Court has set aside a decision of the Appeal Court which nullified the rehearing of a case challenging the leadership of Nigeria’s Football Federation (NFF). A five-member panel of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, ordered the relisting of the case at the trial court in Jos where it was suspended in October 2014.
The apex court, however, declined making any pronouncement on the rightful occupant of the NFF leadership position. A faction of the NFF, led by Chris Giwa, had approached the apex court to demand a rehearing of an appeal suspended at a High Court in Jos during the month of October 2014.
The suspended matter at the trial court was brought by two people; Yahaya Adama and Obinna Ogba who contested the legality of the Congress which conducted elections into the office of the NFF, in which Amaju Pinnick emerged president in September 2014.
However, shortly after Pinnick was elected, the trial court suspended the matter. Later in 2016, the Giwa-led faction requested the relisting of the matter and succeeded in obtaining a judgement from the trial court, presided over by Justice Musa Kurya. In a ruling delivered in April 2016, Justice Kurya nullified the election of Pinnick and ordered his replacement by Giwa. Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, however, Mr. Pinnick’s faction appealed the ruling, resulting in a judgement affirming the October 2014 suspension of the matter.
The appellate court, led by Justice Joseph Tur, nullified the proceeding of the Justice Kurya, stressing that the matter ought not to have been recalled. Subsequently, the Giwa faction approached the Supreme Court with a request that the court sets aside Pinnick’s election and consider entertaining the substantive case suspended at the trial court. The apex court agreed with the submissions of the appellant that the matter ought to have been relisted, but ruled that the entire case could not be heard at the Supreme Court in its merit. Subsequently, the apex court ordered the return of the matter to the trial court in Jos, at an accelerated hearing.