Court Dismisses Suit Challenging APC National Congress

Court Dismisses Suit Challenging APC National Congress
Judge ruled internal party matters are beyond court’s legal jurisdiction.
Court fined APC aspirant and lawyer ₦20 million over failed suit.

The Federal High Court Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit filed by Fubara Dagogo seeking to nullify the recently concluded national congress of the All Progressives Congress.

Delivering judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it concerned the internal affairs of a political party.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the judge held that issues relating to nomination forms, expression of interest forms and party congresses were non-justiciable and outside the powers of the court to determine.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently struck out the suit and awarded a fine of ₦10 million each against Dagogo and his lawyer, bringing the total cost awarded to ₦20 million in favour of the four defendants.

Dagogo, who participated as an aspirant in the APC national congress, had approached the court to challenge what he described as his unlawful exclusion from the party’s national convention election for the position of National Vice Chairman, South-South.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/591/2026, filed through his lawyer, Ogochukwu Onyema, the plaintiff listed the APC, the party’s National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda,

National Vice Chairman South-South, Victor Giadom, and National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Muitamma, as defendants.

Dagogo sought an order nullifying the outcome of the congress for the South-South vice chairmanship position, arguing that he had been excluded despite allegedly paying for his expression of interest and nomination forms.

He also asked the court to declare that his payment acknowledgement receipt issued on March 13 entitled him to participate fully in the exercise.

The plaintiff further demanded ₦100 million in damages against the third and fourth defendants over alleged embarrassment and mental distress.

However, the APC, through its counsel, Kayode Okunade, challenged the competence of the suit and urged the court to dismiss it for lack of jurisdiction.

The party argued that disputes arising from congresses, nomination forms and internal party processes fall strictly within the domestic jurisdiction of political parties.

The defence also maintained that Dagogo failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.