Kwara ballot: Courtroom dismisses PDP go well with searching for Gov. Abdulrazaq, APC’s disqualification

In response to Justice Ekwo, there is no such thing as a iota of legislation which helps this motion.

The Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) reviews that the PDP, in a go well with marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2022, had sued the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), Governor Abdulrazaq and APC as 1st to third respondents respectively.

The PDP had requested the court docket to declare that Mr Abdulrazaq’s West African Examination Council (WAEC) Faculty Certificates hooked up to his affidavit in help of his private particulars which bears the identify “RAZAQ A. R.” didn’t belong to the him, “whose identify as proven in FORM EC 9 is ‘ABDULRAHMAN ABDULRAZAQ.’”

The social gathering claimed that the WAEC certificates was cast and introduced by the APC to INEC to assist Abdulrazaq’s academic qualification as supplied for in Part 177 (d) of the 1999 (as amended).

The PDP, subsequently, sought an order disqualifying Abdulrazaq and APC from collaborating within the Kwara governorship ballot, amongst others.

However the duo opposed the PDP’s utility, urging the court docket to dismiss the go well with for constituting an abuse of court docket course of.

They argued that the PDP lacked the locus standi to instituting the motion having not been a contestant nor a member of the social gathering, amongst others.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Ekwo agreed with the 2nd and third respondents (Abdulrazaq and APC) that the PDP had no locus standi (authorized proper) to file the matter.

In response to him,.the place there is no such thing as a locus, the court docket has no jurisdiction.

He stated the court docket discovered that the motion was incompetent for lack of locus standi.

Ekwo held that that matter bordered on the interior affairs of the APC during which the PDP lacked locus to file the case.

On argument about non-disclosure of explanation for motion in opposition to the respondents, the choose stated that there was a nexus between locus standi and a explanation for motion.

He, subsequently, stated that for the reason that PDP had no locus standi, it additionally didn’t have any explanation for motion in opposition to the respondents.

Justice Ekwo additionally agreed with the respondents that the go well with was an abuse of court docket course of.

“It’s categorical within the provision of Part 29 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022 that the fitting of motion on the matter for which the applicant/respondent (PDP) has filed this motion is given to ‘any aspirant who participated within the primaries of his political social gathering’.

“This Courtroom has additionally beforehand discovered on the primary leg of objection of the 2nd respondent/applicant that the applicant/respondent (PDP) is just not an ‘aspirant’ of the third respondent.

“This court docket has additionally discovered that the supply of Part 285 (14) (c) of the 1999 Structure (as amended) additionally relied upon by the applicant/respondent (PDP) on this trigger doesn’t avail.

“The summation of that is that there is no such thing as a iota of legislation which help this motion. It’s on this floor that I discover that this case is an abuse of course of and I so maintain,” he stated.

In response to him, the place a court docket finds {that a} go well with filed by a celebration quantities to an abuse of the method of the court docket, it has the responsibility to dismiss it to place a remaining cease, at the very least so far as that court docket is worried, to the abuse of its course of.

He, consequently, dismissed the go well with for constituting an abuse of court docket course of.