A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to restore the registration of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and reinstate Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo and other members of its Board of Trustees (BoT).
The court also directed the immediate dissolution of the interim management committee led by Buhari Shehu, which was constituted by the CAC and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to oversee the affairs of the council.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako held that the CAC lacked the statutory authority to determine the tenure of leaders of an organisation or constitute an interim management committee for a registered association.
The dispute arose after the CAC withdrew the NYCN’s certificate of registration on October 6, 2025, a certificate that had earlier been issued on October 28, 2020. Following the withdrawal, the CAC and the Ministry of Youth Development established a nine-member Interim Management Committee on October 7, 2025, with Buhari Shehu as chairman.
Dissatisfied with the action, Sukubo, who serves as NYCN President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, alongside another claimant, instituted Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2142/2025, challenging the legality of the commission’s actions.
The claimants questioned whether provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 empowering the CAC to suspend trustees, appoint interim managers and establish administrative committees were consistent with constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of association.
They also challenged the legality of the withdrawal of the council’s registration certificate and the establishment of the interim management committee while related matters were still pending before the courts.
In her judgment, Justice Nyako ruled that the CAC exceeded its powers by deregistering the NYCN and installing an interim management structure.
According to the judge, although the CAC possesses regulatory oversight powers over incorporated trustees, such powers do not extend to determining leadership disputes that are already the subject of ongoing litigation.
“The real question is whether those powers extend to the wholesale displacement of existing leadership structures,” the judge held.
She noted that disputes concerning the trusteeship, leadership structure and administration of the NYCN were already before courts of competent jurisdiction, making it improper for an administrative body to take actions capable of prejudicing pending proceedings.
“The Commission may investigate. It may supervise compliance with statutory requirements. It may make inquiries into the affairs of an association. What it cannot do is assume the role of the court by effectively deciding who should govern the association while the issue remains the subject of pending litigation,” Justice Nyako stated.
The court further held that the withdrawal of the council’s certificate and the appointment of an interim management committee effectively displaced the existing leadership and altered the status quo in a matter already before the courts.
Justice Nyako declined to make a general declaration on the constitutionality of Sections 839 and 851 of CAMA but ruled that actions taken under those provisions in the circumstances of the case were unlawful.
She subsequently nullified the deregistration of the NYCN and ordered the restoration of the council’s certificate of registration.
The court also directed the CAC to recognise Ambassador Sukubo and other duly registered trustees as the legitimate Board of Trustees and dissolve the interim management committee.
Justice Nyako further ordered all parties to maintain the position that existed before the deregistration of the NYCN and the constitution of the interim management committee pending the determination of the appeal currently before the Court of Appeal.
“The law does not permit a party, directly or indirectly, to achieve administratively what remains unresolved judicially. This would amount to an abuse of court process,” the judge said.
She added that the parties should await the outcome of the pending appeal while maintaining the status quo ante.
“So, that is the decision of the court,” Justice Nyako declared.
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