Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan and presided over by Justice Uche Nma Agomoh, Wednesday, dismissed a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and three others seeking the order of the court to disqualify Mr. Adesoji Adedeji from participating in the February 25 election.
Adedeji is the House of Representatives candidate for the Labour Party (LP) in Ogo Oluwa/Surulere Federal Constituency.
The APC, in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1748/22 filed alongside other plaintiffs namely Ajani Josiah, Chief Adewale Sunday and Adesiyan Semiu on September 30, claimed that Adedeji was nominated by LP and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in violation of Sections 30, 34 and 35 of the Electoral Act.
The plaintiffs then asked the court for an order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to bar Adedeji from participating in Saturday’s election, having been purportedly nominated by the two parties.
But delivering judgment in the suit Wednesday, Justice Agomoh said there was no evidence before the court to support the case of the plaintiffs and consequently dismissed the case for being academic, stale and lacking in merit.
The court had earlier struck out an application for extension of time filed and moved by the counsel for the plaintiffs.
The presiding judge also awarded a total cost of N100,000 against APC to be paid N50,000 each to Adedeji’s counsel, Sunday Aborisade, and the lawyer for Labour Party, Kehinde Yekini.
The court also cleared Adedeji to contest in Saturday’s election, having been validly nominated by LP.
The request by the plaintiffs for a declaration of the court that LP has no candidate in Saturday’s House of Representatives election and that the name and logo of the party should be struck out of the ballot paper was equally refused by the court.
On the issue of locus standi of the plaintiffs to file the suit raised by Aborisade, the judge agreed with him that those who filed the suit have no business doing so as they are not members of LP.
Justice Agomoh described them as “meddlesome interlopers and busybodies” who engaged themselves in what does not concern them.
On the issue of the suit having been filed out of time, the judge also agreed with Adedeji’s lawyer that pre-election matters are ‘sui generis’ and that the case should have been filed within 14 days of the occurrence of the action the plaintiffs complained of.
