A case challenging the candidacy of Mr. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been dismissed by the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
In the judgement, Justice Fadima Muritala, described the plaintiff, Ngozika Ihuoma, as a “meddlesome interloper having no locus standi to institute the suit”.
He, therefore, dismissed the case for being speculative.
Recall that Mr. Ihuoma dragged Mr. Tinubu and five others to court on 9th June, 2022 after Tinubu won the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) presidential primary election.
Mr. Ihuoma sought for a sixth relief, which included the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) barring Tinubu from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
The APC’s counsel, Julius Ishola, urged the Court to dismiss the suit with heavy cost for wasting judicial time.
Mr. Ishola filed a counter affidavit in opposition to the Originating Summons and a Notice of Preliminary Objection.
The counter affidavit challenged Ihuoma’s locus standi and grounds for the action.
It sought a court declaration that the case was speculative, pre-emptive and non-justiciable, being the internal affairs of a political party.
The counter affidavit also punctured Ihuoma’s case as academic, theoretical and an abuse of court process.
In the last couple of weeks, the courts have dismissed several cases brought against the APC’s presidential candidate by then opposition, including Action Alliance, for being frivolous, lacking in merit and abuse of court processes.
