Alex Enumah in Abuja
Justice Mohammed Umar of a Federal High Court, Abuja, has dismissed a suit challenging the emergence of former Cross River Governor, Donald Duke as the presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Umar dismissed the suit filed by an aggrieved aspirant, Yakubu Muhammed Kingsley, for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
Besides Duke, the PRP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were the other defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026.
The plaintiff had asked the court to among others determine whether Duke was dully returned as the presidential candidate of PRP in the May 25 primary election, in which its results was declared on May 26, having not been a registered member of the party as at May 4, when the PRP’s membership register was submitted to INEC.
Besides, Kingsley also asked the court to determine, “Whether over voting in states like Bauchi, where the registered members of the 1st defendant in its membership database is 593 and the total votes cast was 760, in Gombe State the registered member was 348 and the votes cast was 1,431 and in Kwara State, the registered members is 55 while the vote cast was 82 votes, will not call for the nullification of the said primary election.”
Delivering judgment in the case on Wednesday, the court held that the case of the plaintiff was without merit and subsequently dismissed it.
Ruling in the preliminary objection filed by the PRP and Duke, the court held that the case of the plaintiff was statute barred haven filed outside the time prescribed by the Constitution.
In the same vein, the court also considered the substantive issues raised by the plaintiff and resolved them in favour of the respondents.
On Duke’s alleged membership of the PRP, the court held that membership of a political party was an internal party matter and therefore outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The court found that Kingsley failed to place before it the party guidelines, which he alleged had been breached during the party’s screening exercise.
On the allegation of over-voting in the PRP primary election in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states, the court held that the plaintiff failed to provide the party’s membership register, accreditation records and final primary election results to substantiate the claim.
Consequently, the court dismissed the suit and resolved all the issues in favour of the PRP, Duke and INEC.