The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned to July 16 for the hearing of a suit seeking to void the emergence of former Gov. Donald Duke of Cross River as presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the date after the plaintiff’s lawyer, Felix Ipogah, sought an adjournment to enable his team to serve the 1st and 2nd defendants with a counter-affidavit to their joint preliminary objection.
An aggrieved aspirant, Dr Yakubu Kingsley, has filed the suit to challenge the emergence of ex-Gov. Duke as the presidential candidate of the PRP.
Kingsley, through his lawyer, D.A. Sulyman, had sued PRP, Duke and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
When the case was called on Tuesday, Ipogah informed the court that the matter was scheduled for hearing.
He said that the plaintiff had filed a counter-affidavit to the preliminary objection of the 1st and 2nd defendants (PRP and Duke) in the suit.
The lawyer, however, told the court that he had not been able to serve the process on the defendants and applied for an adjournment.
Nuel Akaputu, who appeared for the 1st and 2nd defendants, and Azubuike Ugochukwu, who represented INEC, did not oppose the application, and the judge adjourned the case until July 16 for hearing.
Kingsley, the plaintiff, had sued PRP, the former governor, and INEC as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively, claiming that Duke was not duly returned at the primary objection.
Kingsley, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, sought three questions for determination in the originating summons filed on June 10.
The plaintiff wants the court to determine whether Duke was duly returned as the presidential candidate of PRP in the May 25 primary election, in which its results were declared on May 26, 2026, having not been a registered member of the party as of May 4, when the PRP’s membership register was submitted to the INEC.
“Overvoting in states like Bauchi, where the registered members of the 1st defendant in its membership database were 593 and the total votes cast were 760; in Gombe State, the registered members were 348 and the votes cast were 1,431; and in Kwara State, the registered members were 55 while the votes cast were 82 votes, will not call for the nullification of the said primary election.”
He, therefore, sought a declaration that the ex-governor, not having been a registered member of the PRP, cannot participate in the party’s primary election held on May 25, when he was declared the winner on May 26.
He sought a declaration that Duke ought not to have been cleared for the presidential primary election contest, having not complied with the guidelines of the party to physically present for the screening at its national secretariat.
Kingsley, therefore, prayed the court for an order setting aside the results of the presidential election conducted in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara, respectively, on the ground of overvoting.
He sought an order declaring him as the presidential candidate of PRP for 2027 general elections, having complied with all the party’s guidelines and been a registered member of the party.
He also sought an order directing the commission not to recognise Duke as PRP’s presidential flagbearer or to delete his name from its database as the presidential candidate of the party.
The plaintiff further sought an order directing the electoral umpire to recognise him as PRP’s presidential candidate.
In the affidavit in support of the suit, deposed to by Kingsley himself, the aggrieved aspirant said he is a registered member of PRP with membership card number 2A8D8B20B2.
The plaintiff, who described himself as a “politician”, said he is from Auchi III Ward, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, but is presently in Abuja, FCT.
He averred on oath that Duke was not a duly registered member of the PRP as of May 4, when the membership register of the party was submitted to INEC.
He said he validly purchased the party’s Expression of Interest Form and Nomination Form for the office of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and paid a total sum of N20 million to the party.
But Duke and PRP, in the preliminary objection jointly filed June 23 by their lawyer, Noah Abdul, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.
Giving seven grounds why their application should be granted, Abdul argued that Kingsley’s suit “as constituted is purportedly a pre-election matter within the meaning of Section 285(14)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)”.
The lawyer submitted that by Section 285(9) of the constitution, every pre-election matter ought to have been filed not later than 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the event, decision or action complained of.
According to him, the cause of action in this suit arose on 26 May 2026, being the day the result of the presidential primary election of the 1st defendant was declared.
He, however, said that the instant suit was filed on June 11, 17 days after the accrual of the cause of action.
“The instant suit was filed outside the mandatory 14-day period stipulated by Section 285(9) of the constitution and therefore statute-barred.
“The 14-day period under Section 285(9) is jurisdictional and cannot be extended or enlarged by the court or waived by parties,” he said.
Abdul argued that issues relating to membership of a political party, as is the instant case, are matters strictly within the domestic affairs of a political party.
He said the court has no jurisdiction to determine who the members of a political party are.
“It is not a justiciable question,” he said.
In the defendants’ joint preliminary objection filed by PRP and Duke, they challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit.
They prayed the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction
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