The Peoples Democratic Party's attempt to overturn the recent local government elections in Kwara State has been unsuccessful. The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the party's case against the polls on Tuesday. According to Justice Peter Lifu, the PDP had already participated in the elections and challenged their outcomes through election petitions, but failed to appeal the decisions.
The PDP had initially sought to prevent the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission from conducting the council elections and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from releasing the voters' register to the state electoral commission. However, the elections went ahead while the case remained before the court. The party then participated in the polls and filed about 24 petitions against the results, all of which were dismissed.
The PDP subsequently sought to alter its case before the Federal High Court and introduce a claim asking the court to nullify the elections. However, Justice Lifu rejected this route, holding that the Federal High Court could not acquire the powers of an election tribunal through an amendment to an existing suit. The court also found that the timing of the amended claim presented another legal obstacle.
The court ruled that the PDP's continued pursuit of the matter amounted to an abuse of court process. According to the court, the party had already chosen the electoral petition route after participating in the council polls and could not subsequently seek substantially the same outcome through a different proceeding.
The PDP had voluntarily participated in the elections, presented election petitions, and failed in all of them. Justice Lifu said the party could not use an amended originating summons to recover remedies that were no longer available to it after the conclusion of its election petitions.
The judge further agreed with the preliminary objection filed by the defendants that the PDP's actions were an abuse of court process. The Federal High Court consequently dismissed the PDP's suit, leaving its attempt to nullify the Kwara council elections unsuccessful.
The dismissal of the PDP's suit means that the local government elections in Kwara State will stand. The party's attempt to challenge the elections through the courts has been unsuccessful, and the results of the polls will remain in effect.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the PDP's case against the Kwara local government elections.
- The court ruled that the PDP's continued pursuit of the matter amounted to an abuse of court process.
- The PDP had participated in the elections, filed petitions against the results, and failed to appeal the decisions.
