Yobe North: Court reserves judgment in suit seeking to disqualify Ahmad Lawan

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit seeking to nullify the emergence of former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.

The trial judge, Justice Salim Ibrahim, reserved judgment on Monday, after counsel representing the parties in the matter adopted their written addresses and presented arguments for and against the suit.

According to the judge, the date for delivery of the judgment would be communicated to the parties 24 hours before its delivery.

ALSO READ: Ekiti communities benefit from ActionAid Nigeria’s intervention

The suit was filed by an aggrieved APC aspirant, Hassan Kafayos
who is challenging the conduct of the party’s May 18, 2026, senatorial primary election in Yobe North Senatorial District.

Kafayos is praying the court for an order setting aside Lawan’s emergence as the party’s candidate, alleging that he was unlawfully excluded from the primary election despite being screened and cleared to participate.

The Plaintiff, through his counsel, Mr. Francis Mgboh, argued that Lawan did not participate in the May 18 primary election, insisting that he neither purchased the nomination form for the senatorial seat nor emerged from a valid primary conducted on the scheduled date.

The plaintiff’s lawyer further argued that the election was conducted under a repealed law and maintained that no valid primary election produced Lawan as the APC candidate and urged the court to declare Kafayos the duly nominated candidate of the party for the senatorial district.

However, the APC, Lawan and other defendants urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case.

Adedayo Adedeji, SAN, who represented the APC, said the party had filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court, arguing that the suit was statute-barred because it was filed outside the time prescribed by law.

He noted that the primary election was conducted in May while the action was instituted beyond the constitutionally stipulated period.

“The court has no jurisdiction because the suit is statute-barred, having been filed outside the time frame prescribed by the Constitution,” arguing that the suit is an abuse of court process and urging the judge to dismiss it with substantial costs.

He further asked the court to discountenance a document containing proposed questions for the cross-examination of subpoenaed witnesses, describing it as incompetent.

Shaibu Aruwa, SAN, counsel to Lawan, equally urged the court to dismiss the suit and sought N100 million in costs against the plaintiff.

Abdulalim Akeem, who represented APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, also called for the dismissal of the suit.

Similarly, P. A. Bello, counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who aligned himself with the submissions by the APC and Lawan, maintained that the suit lacked merit and ought not to have been instituted, urging the court to dismiss it with substantial costs.

In the Originating Summons filed by Mgboh, Kafayos joined the APC, Yilwatda, Lawan and INEC as the first to fourth defendants, respectively.

The plaintiff sought four major reliefs, including a declaration that his alleged exclusion from the primary election violated his constitutional rights and the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as the APC’s constitution and nomination guidelines.

He specifically alleged that the APC and its national chairman violated Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination, alongside Sections 84, 85, 86 and 87 of the Electoral Act, 2026.

Kafayos also argued that the alleged exclusion contravened Articles 2, 9.3 and 20 of the APC constitution, which he cited in support of his contention that the party failed to comply with democratic procedures in its internal affairs.

He asked the court to restrain the APC and its national chairman from forwarding Lawan’s name to INEC as the party’s duly nominated candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.

He equally sought an order restraining INEC from accepting or publishing Lawan’s name as the candidate emerging from what he described as a flawed primary election conducted on May 18, 2026.

Alternatively, the plaintiff urged the court to order the APC to conduct a fresh primary election or declare him the party’s duly nominated candidate.

He also sought N50 million in aggravated and exemplary damages against the APC, Yilwatda and Lawan over his alleged wrongful exclusion from the primary election.