A suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking disqualification of the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, has been trashed by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the suit on Friday on the ground that the PDP lacked locus standi to institute the suit.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo held that the suit as an abuse of court process.
The PDP in its originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1734/2022, had filed a suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC, Tinubu and Shettima as 1st to 4th defendants.
PDP in the suit filed on July 28, 2022, challenged the validity of Tinubu to contest for the 2023 presidential election as APC 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 opposition party argued that Shettima’s nomination to contest the position of vice president and Borno Central Senatorial seat contravened the law.
The party sought an order disqualifying the APC, Tinubu and Shettima from contesting the presidential election scheduled for Feb. 25, also sought an order nullifying their candidacy.
It also sought an order compelling INEC to remove their names from its list of nominated or sponsored candidates eligible to contest the poll.
However, the defendants in their preliminary objection filed by Lateef Fagbemi, SSN and argued by Thomas Ojo, urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.
They defendants further argued that 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.
Also, the defendants submitted that such act was an internal affair of APC which they argued was non-justiciable.
In his judgment, Justice Ekwo agreed with the defendants that the PDP had no locus standi to file the matter, saying that where there was no locus, the court had no jurisdiction.
According to the judge, the court found that the action was incompetent for lack of locus standi.
He held that that matter bordered on the internal affairs of the APC in which the PDP lacked locus to file the case.
Also on argument about non-disclosure of cause of action against the respondents, Justice Ekwo said that there was a nexus between locus standi and a cause of action.
Justice Ekwo therefore said that since the PDP had no locus standi, it also did not have any cause of action against the defendants.
He further agreed with the defendants that the suit was an abuse of court process, saying that “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’.”
According to him, it had been established that the PDP was not an aspirant of the APC.
“Therefore, there is no iota of law which supports this action. It is on this ground that I find that this case is an abuse of process and I so hold,” he said.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo dismissed the suit for constituting an abuse of court process.