AfriPulse
…Awards N1m Cost Against Rival
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday affirmed Haruna Audi as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2026 Bwari Area Council chairmanship election, dismissing an appeal filed by Hon. Joshua Ishaku.
In a split decision 2-1, delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, also agreed to by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, the appellate court upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court which had struck out Ishaku’s suit on the ground that it was statute-barred.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Barka held that pre-election matters must be instituted within 14 days of the accrual of the cause of action, in line with Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The court agreed with the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, that the cause of action arose on the date the APC Appeal Panel allegedly reached its decision, and not on the date Ishaku claimed to have become aware that Audi’s name was forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Barka stressed that the date a claimant became aware of the alleged wrongdoing was immaterial for the purpose of computing time.
He further held that courts should be slow to interfere in the internal affairs of political parties, noting that the APC Appeal Committee had issued a ratified report confirming Audi as its candidate.
The court found that Ishaku failed to substantiate his allegations and accordingly dismissed the appeal, awarding costs of N1m against him.
However, Justice Okon Abang, delivered a dissenting judgement.
Abang described the respondents’ argument on when the cause of action occurred as an “imaginary position” unsupported by law or evidence.
He held that the proper test was to determine when the cause of action actually arose, which, in his view, could only be when the name of the 2nd respondent was forwarded to INEC, not when an alleged, undisclosed decision of the party’s appeal panel was made.
Justice Abang reasoned that time could not begin to run against a litigant on the basis of a concealed or undisclosed act, stressing that the appellant could not have acted on a decision of which he had no notice.
He described the argument that time began to run from the panel’s alleged decision as a legal fiction designed to defeat the suit on technical grounds.
Justice Abang also faulted the trial court for failing to properly evaluate crucial evidence, particularly Exhibit J, in which the 2nd respondent allegedly deposed that no primary election took place.
He further held that Exhibit INEC-4, attached to INEC’s counter-affidavit, amounted to an admission against interest by the 2nd and 3rd respondents, one which, he said, the trial court completely ignored.
According to Justice Abang, the trial court is supposed to have relied on the originating summons and affidavit evidence to determine when the appellant became aware of the submission of Audi’s name to INEC, rather than engaging in speculation.
Justice Abang resolved all six issues for determination in favour of Ishaku, holding that the appellant had proved his case.
He rejected the argument that Ishaku was required to exhaust internal party dispute resolution mechanisms, holding that a winner of a primary election could not be described as an “aggrieved person” for that purpose.
He also accused the 2nd and 3rd respondents of changing their case midstream to justify the substitution of the appellant’s name, and faulted the finding that the APC secretary in Bwari Area Council submitted Audi’s name to INEC.
Source: TheWhistler | Read the Full Story…
