Breaking: Court Gives Judgment on APC Senatorial Primary Crisis
- Justice Salim Ibrahim struck out a suit filed by Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume over the APC's Imo North Senatorial District candidacy for 2027
- Araraume had asked the court to direct INEC to recognise him as the party's candidate and remove Sen. Patrick Ndubueze's name from its portal
- The court upheld a preliminary objection raised by Ndubueze, citing a ruling by a Federal High Court in Owerri on the same subject matter
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A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit through which Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume sought to unseat Sen. Patrick Ndubueze as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo North Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Justice Salim Ibrahim, delivering judgment on August 26, ruled that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter because a court of coordinate jurisdiction had already ruled on a related case. A certified true copy of the judgment was sighted by the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.
Source: Twitter
Why the court dismissed the case
Justice Ibrahim upheld a preliminary objection filed by Ndubueze's legal team, led by Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN, who argued that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process. Ananaba told the court that a Federal High Court sitting in Owerri had, on June 25, already resolved the dispute over the APC primary election held on May 18. The Abuja court agreed, finding that both cases covered the same subject matter.
Araraume had filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1569/2026, naming the APC, Ndubueze, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents. Through his counsel, George Ibrahim, SAN, he asked the court to order INEC to recognise his name as the valid APC candidate for the district. He also sought an injunction preventing Ndubueze from presenting himself as the party's candidate, and called on the court to set aside INEC's July 11 upload of Ndubueze's name on its portal, requesting that his own name be substituted in its place.
INEC's position on the candidacy portal
INEC, in an affidavit filed by its counsel Johnson Usman, SAN, told the court it would comply with whatever decision was reached. Usman clarified that under the current nomination process, political parties upload their candidates' details directly through access granted by the commission. He confirmed that it was the APC that uploaded Ndubueze's name on July 11, and that the name remained on INEC's portal as of the date of the hearing.
Before ruling on the substance of the case, Justice Ibrahim noted that the Supreme Court's precedent required courts to first address preliminary objections. Satisfied that the Owerri suit and the Abuja suit concerned the same dispute, he held that proceeding further would amount to an abuse of court process, and struck out the case accordingly.
APC governor threatens to sack council chair
Legit.ng earlier reported that Ebonyi Governor Francis Nwifuru issued a direct warning to newly sworn-in council chairmen at their inauguration in Abakaliki.
Nwifuru told the 13 chairmen their continued stay in office depends on how their councils perform for the APC in the 2027 elections.
The governor also announced cash donations to each chairman and vice chairman from Gem Brass Construction at the ceremony.
Source: Legit.ng
