Court Strikes Out Suit Seeking INEC Recognition Of Turaki Led PDP Interim NWC

Court Strikes Out Suit Seeking INEC Recognition Of Turaki Led PDP Interim NWC
Judge rules Wabara led plaintiffs lacked legal standing to file case.
Court says suit attempted to relitigate issues already decided by previous judgments.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the names of the Kabiru Turaki led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Justice Salim Ibrahim ruled that the plaintiffs, led by Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, lacked the legal standing to institute the suit and consequently struck it out for want of jurisdiction.

The court upheld the preliminary objection filed by INEC and sustained similar objections raised by parties that sought to be joined in the matter.

Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs failed to establish that INEC had recognised the purported interim NWC or that they had the legal authority to institute the action on behalf of the PDP.

Members of the Wabara led Board of Trustees had approached the court to compel INEC to update its records and recognise the factional interim NWC headed by Kabiru Turaki (SAN).

The plaintiffs also sought an order directing the electoral commission to publish the names of the interim executives on its official website.

According to the plaintiffs, the names of the Turaki led executive members were forwarded to INEC through letters dated May 4. They argued that the Electoral Act and the PDP Constitution required INEC to recognise and act on correspondence from the interim leadership.

The suit was filed by Wabara alongside former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Prof. Jerry Gana, Chief Olabode George, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the PDP.

INEC was listed as the sole defendant in the suit, which was filed on June 4 through a legal team led by Chris Uche (SAN).

However, a faction of the PDP aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged the jurisdiction of the court and applied to be joined in the case.

The faction, led by its National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, maintained that it represented the authentic leadership of the PDP and argued that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to institute the action.

In an earlier ruling, Justice Ibrahim granted the applications for joinder, holding that the interests of the applicants would be affected by the outcome of the case.

Delivering judgment, the court upheld all the preliminary objections and struck out the suit, describing it as an abuse of court process.

Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs were attempting to relitigate issues that had already been determined by competent courts.

The court also struck out the PDP’s name from the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked the party’s authorisation to institute the action in its name.

According to the judge, the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs would undermine existing court judgments. He further held that the matter had become academic because evidence before the court showed that the PDP convention that produced the Abdulrahman Mohammed led executives was duly monitored by INEC.

Court Strikes Out Suit Seeking INEC Recognition Of Turaki Led PDP Interim NWC

Justice Ibrahim also ruled that the suit was incompetent because it was commenced by originating summons despite the contentious nature of the dispute.

The court further took judicial notice of existing judgments that nullified the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, which produced the Turaki led executives.

Consequently, the court upheld the arguments of the respondents and struck out the suit.