The Supreme Court of Nigeria has set aside a controversial “status quo ante bellum” order issued in the ongoing leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress, ruling that such an order cannot stand once court proceedings have been concluded.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Garba held that while courts have inherent powers to issue preservative orders to protect the subject matter of a case, those orders lose their relevance after the matter has been fully resolved.
According to the court, the directive to maintain the “status quo ante bellum” was originally intended to prevent any party from taking actions that could undermine the judicial process while the case was still ongoing. However, once proceedings are “fully, conclusively and finally concluded,” there is nothing left for such an order to protect.
The apex court therefore allowed the appeal and nullified the order that had maintained the previous state of affairs in the dispute between rival factions within the party.
The case stems from a prolonged legal battle over the ADC’s leadership structure, including disagreements over appointments and congresses conducted by opposing groups.
Justice Garba also addressed the issue of the appeal’s validity, clarifying that Section 241(1)(f)(ii) of the 1999 Constitution—relating to appeals as of right in injunction matters—did not apply in this case. He explained that the trial court neither granted nor refused an injunction but merely issued procedural directions.
He further noted that since the grounds of appeal were not strictly based on points of law, the appellants were required to seek leave of court before filing—describing this step as a “condition precedent” for a valid appeal.
Despite concerns over the competence of the appeal, the Supreme Court proceeded to examine the lower court’s orders and ultimately ruled that sustaining the status quo after the conclusion of proceedings was legally untenable.
The court subsequently set aside the order and directed that any pending matters before the lower court be resolved strictly in line with the law.
