Court stops party's August 17 national convention

The Federal High court in Abuja has ordered the suspension of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention scheduled to hold on August 17 in Port Harcourt,

Justice Okon Abang opposed an application filed by a former senator Ben Obi, alongside Ahmed Makarfi and some PDP members, seeking to be joined in the suit initiated by the embattled chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff to stop the convention.

Obi had been given the go ahead by the Port Harcourt division of the court for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agents to be present at the convention.

“Obi cannot undermine the authority of this court. Senator Ben Obi cannot treat the court with disdain and levity,” Abang said.

According to The Cable, the judge said he would have adjourned the case to the next day to give Obi’s counsel time to prepare for an intending application from Sheriff’s group, but added that Obi’s action is a “slap on the court”, and therefore adjourned the matter to August 16 at 12pm.

Cancelling the convention, Justice Abang said: “‎Where a party has taken law into its hands, and to maintain the dignity and integrity of the court and in the over all interest of justice, taking into consideration the competing claims of the parties, an order is hereby made in the interim suspending the PDP convention slated for August 17, 2016, pending when the plaintiff motion on notice dated July 20 is served.”

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Sheriff had on Sunday, August 14, accused the PDP of not meeting the conditions for peace demanded by his faction, and vowed to stop the convention from taking place.