SDP: Supreme court dismisses Gabam appeal, ends leadership dispute

The Social Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, on Wednesday said the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal by expelled former National Chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, effectively ending the legal dispute over the party’s leadership.

Adebayo spoke with journalists after proceedings at the Supreme Court in Abuja, where he said the apex court had agreed with the party that Gabam’s appeal had no legal basis after the Court of Appeal had earlier set aside the Federal High Court judgment recognising him.

Recent court reporting also confirms that the Supreme Court had previously affirmed the Gombe-led SDP leadership and set aside the Court of Appeal decision relied upon to restore Gabam.

Adebayo said the Federal High Court had earlier ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Gabam, prompting the SDP to approach the Court of Appeal.

“The Court of Appeal set aside the High Court judgment.”

According to him, Gabam subsequently challenged the appellate court’s decision before the Supreme Court.

“What we heard, the first case we had today was the appeal by Gabam against the judgment of Court of Appeal, and the Appeal Court said there’s no life in the case, and dismissed the case,” Adebayo said.

He added, “That’s the end of anything to do with Gabam and all of that.”

Adebayo said the ruling had removed the dispute over the SDP leadership from the legal agenda.

“So nothing about SDP leadership, SDP anything is coming up again,” he said.

The SDP candidate, however, said another legal battle before the court concerned the electoral timetable and what he described as alleged breaches by INEC.

He said the party approached the court not merely to protect its interests but to ensure compliance with the law and safeguard the electoral process.

“The reason we brought the case before is not because we particularly, as SDP, are not able to cope with themselves. It is to limit the abuse of the electoral process by INEC,” he said.

Adebayo said the electoral commission must operate strictly within the law.

“INEC’s job is to be a servant of democracy and to follow the law as stated,” he said.

He alleged that thousands of cases could emerge from disputes over nominations submitted outside statutory timelines.

“There are over 5,000 cases that are coming up as a result of INEC,” Adebayo said.

He explained that the party’s position was aimed at ensuring that electoral rules were applied consistently to all political parties.

“It is not just talk about things that affect SDP alone. It is to be guiding the democratic process,” he said.

Adebayo also defended the party’s decision to challenge the earlier judgment recognising Gabam, saying the Federal High Court had ordered INEC to recognise a person the SDP had already removed from its leadership.

He said the party subsequently appealed the judgment and secured a favourable decision at the Court of Appeal.

“The Court of Appeal set aside the judgment,” he said.

Adebayo said Gabam’s subsequent appeal had now been dismissed after the court found that there was no basis for it to proceed.

He said the SDP leadership was not interested in using the court process to punish individuals.

“Well, it’s up to the court. We don’t want to look like it’s personal,” he said.

“Because we have asked for it, we are too senior now at the Bar to be using the court process to punish anybody.”

The SDP presidential candidate also said his political ambition influenced his desire to avoid unnecessary personal confrontation.

“And I’m running for president, I’m using my votes. I don’t want to annoy anybody that will vote for me,” he said.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the SDP, Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, described the development as a boost for the rule of law and democracy.

“It has brought sanity to the rule of law and to our democracy,” Gombe said.

He argued that the dispute had already been addressed by the Supreme Court in an earlier judgment, making subsequent attempts to reopen the matter legally contentious.

Gombe said the Court of Appeal had subsequently ruled in favour of the party before the matter returned to the Supreme Court.

“So I think we are happy, and this is victory not only for the APC, as said by the presidential candidate, but victory for democracy,” he said.

The SDP leadership has previously maintained that Gombe remains its National Chairman following the Supreme Court’s May 22, 2026 judgment, which set aside the Court of Appeal ruling relied upon by INEC to restore Gabam.