A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, dismissed a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking the disqualification of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu and his running-mate, Kashim Shettima from participating in the 2023 general elections.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in his judgement, dismissed the suit on the ground that the PDP lacked locus standi to institute the legal action and held that the case was caught by the principle of issue estoppel even as he described the suit as an abuse of court process.
The PDP, in its originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1734/2022 had, in the suit which has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, Tinubu and Shettima as 1st to 4th defendants respectively, challenged the validity of Tinubu to contest the 2023 presidential election as APC’s presidential candidate on the ground that Shettima’s nomination as his running-mate was in breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended).
The party, which argued that Shettima’s nomination to contest the position of vice president and Borno Central Senatorial seat contravened the law also prayed for an order disqualifying the APC, Tinubu and Shettima from contesting the presidential election scheduled for February 25, 2023 and an order nullifying their candidacy.
It further sought an order compelling INEC to remove their names from its list of nominated or sponsored candidates eligible to contest in the election.
The defendants, in their preliminary objection filed by Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) and argued by Thomas Ojo, urged the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
They argued that the plaintiff (PDP) lacked the locus standi (legal right) to file the case, which invariably was challenging the political party’s decision and its nomination of candidates for the polls, adding that such an act was an internal affair of the APC which they argued was non-justiciable.
Justice Ekwo, in his judgement, agreed with the defendants that the PDP had no locus standi to file the matter and added that, where there is no locus, the court has no jurisdiction.
The Judge, who said the court found that the action was incompetent for lack of locus standi, held that the matter bordered on the internal affairs of the APC in which the PDP lacked locus to file the case.
On the argument about non-disclosure of cause of action against the respondents, the judge said that there was a nexus between locus standi and a cause of action and further added that since the PDP had no locus standi, it also did not have any cause of action against the defendants.
Justice Ekwo also agreed with the defendants that the suit was an abuse of court process, saying,
“It is express in the provision of Section 29 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022 that the right of action on the matter for which the applicant/respondent (PDP) has filed this action is given to any aspirant who participated in the primaries of his political party”.
The judge said that it had been established that the PDP was not an aspirant of the APC, “Therefore, there is no iota of law which support this action. It is on this ground that I find that this case is an abuse of process and I so hold,” he said and consequently, dismissed the suit for constituting an abuse of court process.
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