A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday upheld the candidacy of Kola Abiola as the presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the court dismissed the suit filed by an aspirant, Patience Key, to challenge the emergence of Abiola as the Presidential Candidate of the Party.
It was reported that Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a judgment, held that the suit was statute-barred, and hence, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
Justice Mohammed ruled that the lawsuit should have been filed before the election because, according to Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, actions must be brought to court within 14 days of the date on which the cause of action occurred.
Since the PRP presidential election took place on June 5, the judge agreed with the defendants that the lawsuit should have been filed no later than June 19. The plaintiff filed on June 28.
Mohammed ruled that even though the aspirant made serious complaints about the poll’s conduct—including anomalies, vote buying, and a failure to comply with Section 84 of the Electoral Act—the failure to bring the case within the period required by law took precedence.
Since the lawsuit was time-barred by law, the judge threw it out for lack of jurisdiction.
