A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit by Kenneth Imansuangbon in which he prayed the court to void Olumide Akpata’s nomination as the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
In a judgment on Friday, July 19, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that the suit was statue-barred, having been filed outside the 14 days allowed by the constitution for the filing of such pre-election cases.
Justice Egwuatu upheld the preliminary objection raised by Akpata against the competence of the suit.
The judge said, having held that the suit is statute-barred, the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit.
He proceeded to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.
The LP conducted its governorship primary election in Edo on February 23 where Akpata was declared as the winner the party’s candidate.
Imasuagbon, who said he was a governorship aspirant of the LP, filed the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/472/2024 on April 12 through his lawyer, Anthony Malik (SAN).
Listed as defendants in the suit are Akpata, Oluyinka Alufohai (described as the candidate for the deputy governorship seat), the LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Imasuagbon had prayed the court to, among others, invalidate the nomination of Akpata and Alufohai as the governorship and deputy governorship candidates of LP, claiming that Akpata allegedly submitted forged documents in his FORM EC9.
