By Peter Omopo
Lafia | July 4, 2025 — A Senior District Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has issued an interim order restraining the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aliyu Bello, from acting in any official capacity as party chairman or parading himself as a member of the party, pending the determination of a suit filed against him.
The ruling followed a legal challenge brought by Ibrahim Iliyasu, APC chairman of Gayam Ward in Lafia Local Government Area, who accused Bello of defying a valid suspension order issued by ward executives over alleged anti-party activities.
According to court documents obtained by The PUNCH, the case—marked SDC3/M1122/2025—is being presided over by Justice Abdullahi M. Lanze.
The court’s interim order, dated July 3, 2025, granted an application filed by Iliyasu’s counsel, Z.Y. Suleiman Turaki, supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit sworn by Blessing Emmanuel Ayaka, a litigation secretary at J.J. Gbaja & Associates in Lafia.
The order stated in part:
“An order of this Hon. Court is granted restraining the respondent (Hon. Aliyu Bello), whether by himself, his agents, privies, supporters, or any person acting on his behalf, authority, or direction, from further parading himself, issuing statements, carrying out functions, or acting in any manner whatsoever—through media or otherwise—as a member or chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Nasarawa State, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
The legal action is the latest development in an ongoing internal crisis within the APC in Nasarawa, as party stakeholders grapple with leadership disputes and allegations of misconduct.
A date for hearing the substantive motion on notice is expected to be announced by the court.
