BY NONYELUM JULIET
Kaduna
A Kaduna State High Court sitting in Zaria has ordered the reinstatement of the dissolved executives of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kaduna State, nullifying the interim caretaker committee allegedly installed by the camp loyal to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The court, presided over by Justice Kabir Dabo, issued an interim injunction restraining the newly constituted state executive committee and barred them from parading themselves as the legitimate leadership of the party in the state.
The orders, contained in a document signed by the Court Registrar, Zubairu Dauda, followed a motion ex parte filed in Suit No. KDH/Z/280/2025 by Alhaji Adamu Idris and five others against the SDP and 28 other respondents.
In a swift reaction to the controversy surrounding the party’s leadership, the court granted the following reliefs:
Leave for the plaintiffs/applicants to serve the originating summons and relevant court documents on the 1st to 3rd defendants/respondents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, due to their being outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Permission to serve the 4th to 29th defendants/respondents through substituted means. These include delivering the documents to a staff member at the Kaduna State Chapter office of the 1st defendant, located at No. K9 Ahmadu Bello Way, 2nd Floor, Kaduna, or affixing them at the said address, which is deemed the last known place of business.
An interim injunction restraining all defendants/respondents from enforcing or acting upon the purported dissolution of the Kaduna State Chapter Working Committee of the SDP pending the determination of the motion on notice.
Further injunction restraining the 4th to 29th respondents or anyone acting on their behalf from presenting themselves as the Caretaker Committee of the party’s Kaduna State Chapter pending the outcome of the motion on notice.
The ex parte motion was argued by A. L. Yusuf, Esq., supported by a 49-paragraph affidavit, with legal appearances from senior counsels including Professors Mohammed, Esq., Tahir Mohammed Bello, Esq., Bashir Ibrahim, Esq., and Usman Sani Salihu, Esq.
The court directed that the enrolled order and the originating processes be duly served before the next hearing date, which has been fixed for July 24, 2025.
This latest judicial development is seen as a blow to the faction loyal to former Governor El-Rufai, signaling a significant legal victory for the original executives of the SDP in Kaduna State amidst ongoing internal wrangling.
