By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to nullify former Cross River State governor Donald Duke’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 election.
Justice Mohammed Umar, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, held that the suit filed by an aggrieved PRP presidential aspirant, Yakubu Kingsley, was statute-barred.
The judge upheld preliminary objections filed by Duke and the PRP challenging the competence of the case.
According to the court, the suit was a pre-election matter and ought to have been filed within the period prescribed by Section 285(9) of the Constitution.
Kingsley filed the case on June 10, 16 days after the results of the PRP presidential primary conducted on May 25 were made public.
Justice Umar rejected Kingsley’s argument that the 14-day period should begin from June 6, when the party’s appeal committee communicated its decision rejecting his complaint.
The court consequently declined jurisdiction, holding that the action was filed outside the statutory period.
Justice Umar, however, went further to consider the substantive claims and dismissed them on the grounds that Kingsley failed to establish his case.
One of the major issues raised by the plaintiff was Duke’s alleged membership status at the time the PRP submitted its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on May 4.
Kingsley had argued that Duke was not a registered member of the party at the time and was therefore ineligible to participate in the May 25 presidential primary.
The judge held that questions concerning membership of a political party constituted an internal affair of the party and were not justiciable in the circumstances of the case.
Kingsley had also alleged that Duke failed to comply with the party’s screening guidelines because he did not physically appear at the PRP national secretariat for screening.
Justice Umar rejected the claim, noting that although Kingsley relied on the party’s guidelines, he failed to produce the guidelines before the court.
The plaintiff had further challenged the results of the primary in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states, alleging that the number of votes recorded exceeded the number of registered party members in those states.
The court rejected the over-voting claim, holding that Kingsley failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the allegation.
Kingsley had asked the court to set aside the results from the three states and declare him the PRP’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
He also sought an order directing INEC not to recognise Duke as the party’s presidential candidate.
The court’s decision leaves Duke’s emergence as the PRP presidential candidate undisturbed in the suit.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, had earlier been adjourned for judgment after the parties adopted their respective legal arguments.
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