The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to stop the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) from conducting local council elections in Kwara State. The court ruled that the case was statute-barred and an abuse of court process. The PDP had filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1061/2024, against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and KWASIEC.
According to the court, the PDP's suit was initially a pre-election matter but was later transformed into a post-election claim through an amendment. The court noted that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter as an election tribunal and that the suit was statute-barred. The PDP had sought to restrain KWASIEC from conducting the elections and INEC from providing the voters' register.
Despite the pending suit, the council elections were conducted, and the PDP participated fully in the electoral process. The party filed 24 election petitions, all of which were dismissed. Instead of appealing the decisions, the PDP applied to amend its originating summons to seek an order nullifying the elections.
The court, however, held that the amendment fundamentally altered the character of the action. It noted that the suit was caught by the statutory limitation period, and the court had no power to hear it as an electoral tribunal. The court also upheld the defendants' preliminary objection that the suit constituted an abuse of court process.
The court stated that the PDP had voluntarily participated in the elections, presented election petitions, and failed in all of them. It was impermissible for the PDP to return, through an amended originating summons, to seek reliefs that it could no longer obtain through the election petition process.
The court's decision was delivered by Justice Peter Lifu. The PDP's conduct, the court noted, amounted to an attempt to re-litigate matters that ought to have been ventilated exclusively before the appropriate election tribunals. The court's judgment effectively allows the council elections in Kwara State to stand.
The dismissal of the PDP's suit means that the local council elections in Kwara State will not be nullified. The INEC and KWASIEC can continue with their electoral processes without any court-imposed restrictions. The PDP's loss in court is a significant development in the lead-up to future elections in Nigeria.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the PDP's suit due to it being statute-barred and an abuse of court process.
- The PDP had participated in the council elections despite the pending suit and had filed 24 election petitions that were dismissed.
- The court's decision allows the council elections in Kwara State to stand, and the PDP's loss is a significant development in Nigeria's electoral process.
