Court dismisses PDP’s case against Senator Abiru

A Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Senator Adetokunbo Abiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from continuing to represent Lagos East senatorial district in the National Assembly.

Justice Chuka Obiozor dismissed the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a five-hour judgment delivered on Monday.

He upheld the argument canvassed by Abiru’s lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kemi Pinheiro, that the PDP’s case was statute-barred.

The judge also disagreed with the PDP’s argument made through its counsel and SAN, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot transfer a voter’s registration details.

Abiru, who has since been sworn into office, won the last senatorial bye-election conducted by INEC on December 5, 2020, by a landslide.

He polled 89,204 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP in the election, Ademola Gbadamosi, who scored 11,257 votes.

The lawmaker’s victory in court comes a week after the National Assembly and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja struck out a suit challenging his election.

Justice Bassey Ikpeme who chaired a three-man panel of judges on Tuesday last week had struck out the petition filed by the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) and its candidate, Olusola Babatope, following an application to withdraw their petition.

The other two members of the panel were Justice Mohammed Abubakar and Justice M.M. Odanya.

Apart from the third defendant – Abiru, the APC and INEC were listed as the first and second respondents in the petition.

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