2023: Court dismisses case challenging Tinubu’s candidacy
A case challenging the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been dismissed by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
It was the fourth case to be dismissed by the courts in recent weeks.
In the latest case, suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/854/2022, Justice Fadima Aminu Muritala described the plaintiff, Elder Ngozika Ihuoma as a “meddlesome interloper having no locus standi to institute the suit”.
He therefore dismissed the case for being speculative after APC’s counsel, Julius Ishola Esq from Babatunde Ogala & Co had urged the Court to dismiss it with heavy cost for wasting judicial time.
Ihuoma dragged Tinubu and five others to court on 9 June, 2022 after the former Lagos State Governor won the APC presidential primary election.
He sought for six reliefs, which included INEC barring Tinubu from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
In defence of the suit, the law office of Babatunde Ogala (SAN) & Co on behalf of All Progressives Congress 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.
The court on Monday upheld the defence counsel’s objections and struck out the case.
In the last couple of weeks, the courts have dismissed several cases brought against Asiwaju Tinubu by opposition elements, including Action Alliance, for being frivolous, lacking in merit and abuse of court processes.
