Court Stops Plot To Disqualify APC Guber Candidate In Kwara | Nairalaw

A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Friday
struck out a suit instituted by the former Ishola Balogun-Fulani
faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kwara seeking to
nullify the nomination of Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq as governorship
candidate of the party.

Balogun-Fulani, had approached the Federal High Court to enforce
a Dec. 19 ruling of the Kwara State High Court which proclaimed him
the chairman of the party in the state.

NAN reports that the Appeal Court declared that the lower court
lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by Balogun-Fulani
in the first instance.

In his judgment, Justice Babagana Ashigar of the Federal High
Court said it lacked jurisdiction to entertain a suit previously
heard and decided by a court of coordinate jurisdiction.

Ashigar also said he could not hear a suit bordering on a
judgment of the court of coordinate jurisdiction.

“Since the Kwara State High Court knew that it would not have
jurisdiction over INEC it shouldn’t have assumed jurisdiction over
the matter,” Ashigar held.

He further held that since the same matter was already before
the Supreme Court, there was no way the Federal High Court could
hear it again whichever way it was decided by the apex court.

The court, therefore, struck out the case, refusing to grant any
of the reliefs sought by Balogun-Fulani.

Counsel to Balogun-Fulani, Wahab Bamidele, in his submission had
urged the court to adjourn the matter until his client’s appeal at
the Supreme Court was decided.

But counsel to AbdulRazaq, Jimoh Lawal, objected to the
submission of Bamidele, urging the court to strike out the case for
lack of jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeal had upheld the nomination of AbdulRazaq as
governorship candidate of the APC.

The court affirmed that it was only the National Working
Committee of the APC that had the powers to nominate candidates for
elections.