Rather, the apex court, in a judgment delivered on Friday, sent the case back to the Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, where it was commenced in September 2014, and ordered the said court to give it an accelerated hearing.
A five-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, unanimously set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Jos, which had held that the case could no longer be relisted before the Federal High Court having been earlier withdrawn by the appellants.
Although the Supreme Court upheld the appellants’ contention that they could have the case re-listed before the Federal High Court after their settlement talks broke down, it rejected the plea by the appellants to have the case heard and determined on its merit.
The apex court held that the conditions that could warrant hearing such case which ought to be heard by the Federal High Court had not been met.
The appellants, Yahaya Adama and Obinna Ogba, who had claimed that they and others were the authentic NFF executive committee members said to have been elected on August 26, 2014.
They had on September 19, 2014, filed their suit before the Federal High Court in Jos, praying for among others, that they along with others allegedly elected on August 26, 2014, be declared to be the legitimate executive committee members of the NFF.
The defendants to the suit were the then outgone executive committee of the NFF represented by its President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, and Musa Adamu, the Plateau State Football Association representing the football association in the 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory, and the Minister of Sports.
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