Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), had a lawsuit filed against him seeking his disqualification thrown out Wednesday by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), LP, and Peter Obi were all named as defendants in the case with the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1743/2022.
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) filed a motion asking the court to issue an injunction barring the first defendant from taking any action based on, recognising, giving effect to, or otherwise dealing with the name of the third defendant as the party’s candidate in the upcoming 2023 presidential election.
Because the plaintiff did not present enough evidence to warrant a favourable ruling, Justice James K. Omotosho ruled in favour of dismissal.
When filing the initial summons, the plaintiff had asked for, among other things, “a declaration that, in view of Section 131(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the 1st defendant’s election time table and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election, the 1st defendant’s electoral guidelines for the conduct of 2023 political party primary elections and nomination of candidates for election, Sections 29(1), 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which mandate the 2nd defendant to maintain a register of its members in both hard and soft copy and make such register available to the 1st defendant, not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party’s primaries, the 3rd defendant be disqualified from taking part in or otherwise contesting the 2023 presidential election fixed for February 25, 2023.
“Provisions of Section 131 (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended); the 1st defendant’s election timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election, the 1st defendant’s electoral guidelines for the conduct of 2023 political party primary elections and nomination of candidates for elections, Sections 29(1), 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the fact that the 3rd defendant became a registered member of the 2nd defendant less than 30 days to the party’s presidential primary election, which held on May 30, 2022, the 3rd defendant, herein, is disqualified and ineligible to contest the 2023 presidential elections as the candidate or flag bearer of the 2nd defendant.”
