Court dismisses three cases filed against Governor Abiodun, APC

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3 years ago

Dapo Abiodun

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, has dismissed three different cases filed against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, challenging Abiodun’s victory at the party primaries conducted on May 26, 2022.

The judge dismissed the cases based on lack of standing to sue; lack of jurisdiction; incompetence; frivolity and academic exercise and being statute barred.

Justice Abdulmalik awarded a “joint cost” of N2 million against the litigants and in favour of APC and its candidate in each of the three cases.

The judge said that one Mrs Sherifat Eweje, who instituted a case against APC and Dapo Abiodun, cannot invoke the limited jurisdiction of the court to challenge the outcome of the primary.

He remarked that Eweje bought a form for a legislative seat and did not buy a form for the governorship position.

While adding that Eweje withdrew her candidacy on May 10, 2022, long before she filed the suit and before May 26, 2022, when the governorship primary held.

The judge held that the plaintiff did not have any locus standi to file a suit against the party and its governorship candidate.

The court also held that Plaintiff’s suit is statute-barred because it was filed more than 14 days after the cause of action arose.

It, therefore, declared the suit incompetent and struck it out, describing all other issues raised in the case as academic issues, since the court has no jurisdiction.

The Court awarded joint costs of ₦2m in favour of the 1st and 2nd defendants for the institution of the suit.

In the second case filed by one Semiu Olanrewaju Alao, on the issue of locus standi first, Justice Abdulmalik, said that the plaintiffs were not aspirants because by their own averments, they were not even sold delegate forms and as such, did not participate in any election whether primary or delegates elections.

He argued that the plaintiffs were not aspirants in the primary elections and as such did not qualify under the Constitution to file the case,and as such declared that the plaintiffs who were not aspirants had no locus standi to file the case.

Regarding the singular Plaintiff who claimed to be a delegate, the Judge remarked that all the Plaintiffs acknowledged that 4th Defendant is the Chairman of 5th Defendant and yet the document that the Plaintiffs showed highlighting the alleged delegate’s name as a delegate was not authenticated by the said 4th Defendant as sent to the National Chairman.

The court concluded that Plaintiffs’ counsel failed woefully to establish that 2nd Plaintiff was a delegate and thus failed to establish the locus standi of the Plaintiffs to file the case. The court then declared the case as incompetent. A Cost of ₦2 million was awarded against Plaintiffs in favour of 1st, 4th, and 5th Defendants.

In the third case, Nuberu Olufemi Adesanya & 2 Ors v. INEC & 3 Ors, the Court cited the case of Alli Modu Sheriff v. PDP., to the effect that a political party is a voluntary club and its decisions are binding on its members who must obey the Party or leave the Party. Ruling on objections raised by APC, the court agreed that under the APC Constitution, offences against the party include filing an action against Party or its officials without first exhausting internal remedies. The court found that the purported complaint filed by Plaintiffs was misdirected as under the Party Constitution, it must start from the ward level and climb its way up. The Court held that the Plaintiff did not exhaust the internal remedy of the party and the case filed was “not justiciable.”

The court added that the parties had an obligation to exhaust internal remedies but failed to do so. Instead of submitting complaints to their wards and working those complaints up the ladder of the Party’s dispute resolution structure, they rushed to court and filed cases that pertain to matters that are not justiciable, being internal affairs of APC. The court reminded the litigants that APC is a voluntary organisation and the will of the majority will prevail in APC. A joint cost of ₦2m was also awarded in favour of 1st – 3rd Defendants in the matter.

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