Court dismisses suit challenging emergence of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as Kogi Senatorial candidate

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

Akpoti-Uduaghan had in her counter-affidavit averred that the primary election conducted on May 25, 2022, was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and that she validly won, attaching the result, delegates list and INEC report.

By Jeffrey Agbo

A Federal High Court has dismissed a suit challenging the nomination of a lawyer, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as the Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Kogi Central.

Justice Peter Mallong said on Friday the legal action instituted by another contestant, Adamu Atta was grossly incompetent and incurably defective and thereby robbed the court jurisdiction to entertain it.

In his originating summons, Atta alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan did not win the primary election of the PDP for Kogi Central Senatorial District for the 2023 general election and therefore her nomination should be nullified.

He claimed among others, that the May 25 primary election which produced Akpoti-Uduaghan was flawed and not validly conducted as required by law.

The plaintiff asked the court to void and set aside the primary election as well as the eventual nomination of the defendant.

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However, Akpoti-Uduaghan through her counsel, Johnson Usman vehemently objected to the hearing of the suit on the ground that the originating summons was not endorsed as required by law.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had in her counter-affidavit averred that the primary election conducted on May 25, 2022, was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and that she validly won, attaching the result, delegates list and INEC report.

In his judgment, Justice Mallong agreed with Usman that the suit was improperly commenced and that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it and subsequently dismissed it in its entirety.

Jeffrey Agbo:
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