The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by former National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, in the latest legal battle over the party’s leadership.
The development reinforces the position of Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Gombe as the party’s national chairman following the apex court’s earlier judgment in May 2026, reports The Nation.
The Supreme Court had in that judgment set aside the Court of Appeal decision that had restored Gabam’s recognition.
A five-member panel, comprising Justices Adamu Jauro, Haruna Tsammani, A.A. Adumein, Jonah Adah and Joseph Oyewole, was said to have ruled against Gabam.
In the lead judgment, Justice Jauro held that the appeal lacked merit and had become irrelevant, bringing Gabam’s challenge to the earlier Court of Appeal decision to an end.
Reacting to the judgment, SDP presidential candidate and counsel to the party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, said Gabam’s challenge had effectively been terminated.
“The Supreme Court said that there is no life in the case and dismissed the case. That is the end of Shehu Gabam. There is nothing about the SDP leadership crisis coming up again,” Adebayo said.
He further claimed that the panel advised the appellants to withdraw the suit and apologise to the court, describing the development as an end to the litigation over the national chairmanship.
The May 22 Supreme Court judgment had earlier set aside the Court of Appeal’s intervention in the SDP leadership dispute and affirmed the legal effect of the party’s internal processes. INEC subsequently recognised Gombe as the SDP national chairman and removed Gabam from its records.
Adebayo, however, said the SDP still had two matters pending before the Supreme Court.
One of them, he said, concerns a challenge to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its modified timetable for the 2027 presidential election.
He said the suit was intended to address broader issues concerning the conduct of the electoral process rather than a specific timetable affecting the SDP.
“The reason we brought the case to court is not that we, particularly the SDP, [are concerned] with the 2027 election modified timetable. It is to limit INEC’s abuse of the electoral process. INEC’s job is to be a servant of democracy and to follow the law as stated,” Adebayo said.
Following the ruling, SDP National Chairman Prof. Gombe commended the Supreme Court for its handling of the dispute and the protection of internal party democracy.
The latest development follows a prolonged leadership dispute that had seen both Gabam and Gombe’s factions lay claim to control of the party.
The SDP itself had previously said the Supreme Court’s May 2026 decision set aside the Court of Appeal judgment and affirmed the authority of the Gombe-led National Working Committee.
