A Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has struck out a suit seeking to nullify the nomination of Toyin Okoro as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1 in the 2027 House of Representatives election. The suit, marked FHC/AD/CS/19/2026, was filed by Babalotin Bayo against Okoro and three others.
Justice Babs Kuewumi struck out the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the action and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it. The judge described Bayo as a "meddlesome interloper" and a "busybody", holding that he had no legal standing to challenge the conduct or outcome of the party's primary.
According to the judge, Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act confer the statutory right to challenge a party primary on an aspirant who participated in the primary. The Ekiti State chapter of the APC does not have a separate legal personality that would allow it to be sued independently of the party's national body.
Okoro emerged as the APC candidate after defeating the incumbent lawmaker, AVM Rufus Ojuawo (retd.), in the party's May 2026 primary. His emergence was subsequently confirmed by the party's National Working Committee (NWC). Okoro's lead counsel, Dr Femi Ogunlade, described the decision as a victory for the rule of law and internal party democracy.
Ogunlade said the judgment had reaffirmed that individuals could not assume constitutional rights that were not available to them. The court has come out clearly to re-affirm that no individual can confer constitutional rights upon themselves where none exists. The substratum of the plaintiff's case was defective from the outset because he was never an aspirant in the primary election.
A lawyer and community leader from Ise-Ekiti, Adebayo Adeji, said the judgment had brought an end to the legal dispute surrounding Okoro's candidacy. Adeji said Okoro had strong support across the federal constituency, which comprises Ise-Orun, Ikere and Ekiti South-West Local Government Areas. The court has validated the choice of the people, and the decision shows that no individual can stand in the way of a moving political train.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that political parties that field candidates whose names are not contained in the membership registers submitted to the commission will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections. INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this while speaking on Trust TV's Daily Politics programme.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti struck out a suit challenging Toyin Okoro's nomination as the APC candidate for Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1.
- The court ruled that the plaintiff lacked legal standing to institute the action and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
- INEC has warned that parties fielding candidates whose names are not in their membership registers will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections.
