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 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 9th June after the former Lagos State Governor won the APC presidential primary.
He sought for six reliefs, which included the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) barring Tinubu from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
In defence of the suit, the law firm of Ogala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former APC National Legal Adviser, filed a counter affidavit on behalf of the party, 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 Tinubu by opposition elements, including Action Alliance. The courts ruled that the suits were frivolous, lacking in merit and an abuse of court processes.
