Senator Ahmad Lawan, representing Yobe North in the National Assembly, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), have separately asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the outcome of the May 18 Yobe North Senatorial District primary election. Both parties filed preliminary objections before Justice Salim Ibrahim, each contending that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter brought by Hassan Kafayos, an aspirant who was excluded from the primary.
Kafayos' Allegations Against Lawan and APC
Kafayos, through his lawyer Francis Mgboh, filed the originating summons on May 29, naming the APC, APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Lawan, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants. He claimed he was screened and cleared by the APC's Screening Committee as an eligible aspirant, only to be told on the day of the poll at Government Lodge, Gashua, that only Lawan had been cleared to contest.
The aggrieved aspirant alleged that members of the election committee, backed by Lawan, deployed police officers who fired tear gas to scatter voters gathered at the designated venue. He further claimed the committee subsequently relocated to Lawan's private residence in Gashua, where roughly seven persons endorsed Lawan as the party's senatorial candidate. He said photographs of that endorsement, printed from his personal devices, were attached as exhibits in his suit.
According to Daily Trust, Kafayos is seeking, among other reliefs, a court order stopping INEC from accepting Lawan's name as the party's candidate, a fresh primary election, and N50 million in damages for his alleged wrongful exclusion.
Why Lawan and APC Defend the Party
Lawan's lawyer, Shaibu Aruwa, SAN, raised four grounds of objection, chief among them being that the suit was filed in the wrong court division. Aruwa argued the case should have been brought before the Damaturu division of the Federal High Court, not Abuja, describing the filing as an abuse of court process. He further argued that questions about how a political party nominates its candidate are matters of internal party affairs that courts cannot adjudicate.
The APC's counsel, Adedayo Adedeji, SAN, added that the suit was statute-barred. He said the APC published its screening results on May 11, the date on which Kafayos was formally notified that he was "Not Cleared." Under Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, pre-election matters must be filed within 14 days of the event complained of, which Adedeji said put the constitutional deadline at May 25, four days before Kafayos eventually filed.
Yilwatda, in a counter affidavit, maintained that Kafayos was disqualified by the party's duly constituted Screening Committee and therefore had no legal standing to challenge a primary election he did not participate in.
Court Adjourns Hearing
Justice Ibrahim adjourned the matter to September 18 for hearing.
In a related development, Legit.ng earlier reported that the APC and President Tinubu filed a joint counter affidavit on September 9, challenging the suit brought by Atiku Abubakar and the ADC. Atiku and the ADC sought a court order to bar Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election over an allegedly forged NYSC certificate. The APC's legal director argued that Atiku lacked the standing to challenge Tinubu's nomination since he took no part in the party's primary.
