A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed two suits by aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State challenging planned use of indirect primary for the nomination of the governorship candidate of the party.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, yesterday, dismissed the first suit, number FHC/ABJ/CS/581/2018, which asked the court to stop the indirect primaries adopted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
The judge also dismissed the second suit with reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/833/2019, which asked the court to determine the authentic leadership of the party.
Justice Taiwo held that the matter had become statute barred having been brought outside the 180 days provided under Section 285 (10) of the Constitution.
The members who brought the suit included Destiny Eneojoh Aromeh, ex-officio; Isah Abubakar, Organising Secretary; Noah Aku, Zonal Youth Leader; and Joy Onu, Zonal Women Leader.
They had sought an order of court restraining APC from adopting an indirect mode of primary for the nomination of its governorship candidate in the November governorship election in Kogi pending the determination of the motion on notice.
Earlier, counsel to the applicants, Oluwole Aladedeoye, told the court that it would be illegal to go ahead to conduct the primary while the matter was pending before another judge of the court, Justice Okon Abang.
He said the issue of authentic executive of the party in the state was a live issue before a court, adding that the applicants would be shut out of they went ahead to adopt an indirect primary where only delegates who were members of the state executive council would be allowed to vote.
But counsel to APC, Damian Dodo (SAN) argued that the suit being a pre-election matter was brought outside the constitutionally provided time.
