A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Engr. Yakubu Mohammed, an aggrieved presidential aspirant of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), seeking to void the nomination of former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, as the party's presidential candidate. The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, was filed on June 10, 16 days after the results of the PRP's presidential primary election conducted on May 25 was made public.
Justice Mohammed Umar, in a judgment on Wednesday, held that the suit was statute barred, having been filed in violation of the provision of Section 285(9) of the Constitution. The judge upheld the preliminary objections raised against the competence of the suit by the PRP and Duke. He faulted Mohammed's contention that the 14 days limit allowed by the Constitution for the filing of pre-election cases ought to start counting from June 6 when the party's appeal committee wrote him to communicate its decision, rejecting his appeal.
The judge declined jurisdiction, holding that the suit, having been found to be statute barred, robbed the court of the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine it. However, he proceeded to also determine the suit on the merit and equally dismissed it on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to prove his case. The plaintiff had argued that Duke was not a registered member of the party when the PRP submitted its membership register to INEC on May 4.
Justice Umar held that the issue of membership of a political party is an internal affair of the political party, which is non-justiciable and over which the court lacked jurisdiction. He also faulted the plaintiff's claim that Duke did not comply with the party's guidelines and was ineligible to participate in the primary election. The judge noted that while Mohammed referred to the PRP's guidelines, which he claimed Duke violated, he failed to produce the said guidelines before the court as required.
The judge rejected Mohammad's claim of over-voting during the primary election in states like Bauchi, Kwara, and Gombe, holding that he failed to prove over-voting as required by law. Mohammed had, in his originating summons, urged the court to determine whether Duke was validly returned as the party's presidential candidate in the May 25 primary election. He prayed for a declaration that Duke was ineligible to participate in the primary election and ought not to have been cleared to contest.
The plaintiff also prayed the court to set aside the results from Bauchi, Gombe, and Kwara states over alleged over-voting and declare him the PRP presidential candidate for the 2027 elections. He further sought an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise Duke as the party's presidential flagbearer and to instead recognise him as the PRP's candidate. The court's judgment has now cleared the way for Duke to contest the presidential election under the PRP.
The dismissal of the suit is a significant development in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election. Duke's nomination as the PRP's presidential candidate has been upheld, and he is now cleared to contest the election. The court's decision has also reinforced the internal affairs of a political party, including membership and nomination processes, are non-justiciable and not subject to court interference.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to void Donald Duke's nomination as the PRP's presidential candidate.
- The court held that the suit was statute barred and that the plaintiff failed to prove his case.
- The dismissal of the suit clears the way for Duke to contest the 2027 presidential election under the PRP.
