Kogi guber primaries: Court rejects suit seeking to nullify PDP delegates’ list

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegate lists for the governorship primaries scheduled for Friday were challenged in court, but an Abuja High Court dismissed it on Thursday.

The lawsuit was brought by Mr. Abayomi Awoniyi, Abdullahi Haruna, Ruben Atabo, Mohammed Usman, Musa Wada, Kingsley Lona, Gedion Ojata, and Dr. M. Bolufemi.

The PDP, INEC, and Abdul Ningi and Warman Ogorija, the chairman and secretary of the ad hoc delegates, respectively, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Justice Peter Kekemeke issued a ruling and stated that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

“The subject matter from the suit is the list of the delegates to be used for the PDP Kogi primary on April 14.

“It is important to note whether the court has the jurisdiction to handle the matter.

“The court cannot hear a matter which is exclusively within the jurisdiction of another state,” he held.

He held that the FCT is treated as a state in the federation, and each state is responsible for the matters arising in the state.

“It is different from the Federal High Court, this court can only assume jurisdiction in the matters within the FCT. This court, by virtue of 299 (a), is like a state high court. As much as I would like to grant the order, by the law, I am constrained and restrained to grant the order,” the judge stated.

The claimants, through their counsel, P.O. Okolo, SAN, through motion on notice, prayed the court to grant them the order.

They prayed for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the first and second respondents either by themselves or their agents’ privies, proxies, representatives or whosoever acting through them on their behalf from accepting, dealing and using the list of delegates contained in Exhibit E1-E16.

They also sought an order of mandatory injunction directing the first and second respondents to receive, treat, deal or use the list of elected delegates contained in exhibit E1-E21 for the purpose of conducting the first respondent Kogi governorship primaries on Friday.

The claimants specifically sought an order of mandatory injunction directing or compelling the first respondent to remove or delete from its record or not to recognize or treat, deal or use the purported list of delegates pending the determination of the originating summons.