- Awards N50,000 Cost in Favour of APC
By Amos Aar
THE Federal High Court Makurdi Division presided over by Justice Abdul Dogo has dismissed the suit filed by the Benue State governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Herman Iorwase Hembe, against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for including his name on the gubernatorial primary election result of the APC.
Hembe had prayed the court to make a declaration that the votes allocated to him in the purported gubernatorial primaries of the 1st respondent held on 27th May, 2022, and the ‘purported rerun’ held on 8th June, 2022, were null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
Blaire Luga Esq., counsel to Hembe, argued further that the suit is a pre-election matter as it is about the governorship primaries of the 1st defendant.
“Assuming without conceding that the suit is not a pre-election matter, yet the court has jurisdiction over the suit because of the presence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” Luga argued.
Responding, counsel to the 1st defendant, Fidelis Mnyim Esq filed notice of preliminary objections and a 13-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Dan-Morgan Ihomun, the Benue State publicity secretary of the APC, and a written address which argued on a lone issue of whether the court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the originating summons.
Mnyim submitted that the suit filed by the plaintiff does not fall within the ambit of pre-election matter, because the suit does not complain of non-compliance with provisions of section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the first defendant’s guidelines.
He further argued that the suit does not seek to challenge the primary election of first defendant but only the interpretation of notice of withdrawal from the governorship primaries and letter of resignation from APC which is outside the jurisdiction of the court.
Mnyim further contended that the plaintiff lacks the locus standi to institute the suit because he is not an aspirant on the platform of the APC and therefore cannot file the suit as contemplated in section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2022 among others.
He prayed the court to strike out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
In response to the preliminary objection, the plaintiff filled counter affidavit and a written address, seeking three issues for determination, namely: whether having regards to the letter of resignation, dated 26th May 2022, the party can still go ahead and allocate votes to the plaintiff from the primaries and re-run primary elections. Whether by the notice of resignation and letter of withdrawal, all dated 26th May 2022, the plaintiff is still a member of the first defendant.
Ruling, Justice Dogo, in resolving the issue of whether the suit is a pre-election matter cited section 285(14) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which defines pre-election matter as: “any suit filed by an aspirant who contend that any of the provisions in the Electoral Act or any act of the National Assembly relating to the conduct of primaries of political party and the provisions of the guidelines of the political party in the conduct of primaries have not been complied with by the political party in the selection or nomination of its candidate or an Aspirant challenging the actions, decision of the independent national electoral commission INEC in respect to its participation in an election or INEC fails to comply with any act of the national Assembly.”
Justice Dogo said the above provision is clearer and devoid of any ambiguity, therefore, the court is bound to give the literal meaning of the provision.
“Whether the plaintiff has situated himself or his suit within any of the provisions of subsection 14(a) to (c) of 285, recourse must be held to the originating summons and the affidavits in support of same,” the judge holds.
Justice Dogo said he had read carefully the three issues in the originating summons of the plaintiff and had seen that the only issue the plaintiff complained was the alleged treatment as one of its members in the governorship primary election conducted by APC for the election of its governorship candidate in Benue State.
The judge also held that the plaintiff’s pleadings in the instant case did not go along with provisions of section 285(14) of the constitution and as rightly submitted by counsel to the 1st defendant, Fidelis Mnyim Esq, that the plaintiff’s complaints were never that the provisions of the Electoral Act or the guidelines of the 1st defendant was not complied with in the conduct of its primary election.
According to Justice Dogo, the plaintiff’s suit was not a pre-election matter and therefore the issue of status barred or filing outside time did not arise as raised by the defendants.
The judge further held that taking refuge under section 251(1)(r) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) relied upon by the plaintiff’s counsel could not come to his aid because the mere presence of the agent of the federal government in the suit cannot clothe the Federal High Court with requisite jurisdiction.
According to him, the mere addition of (INEC) in the suit could not help the case of the plaintiff because he did not complain of any administrative failures of INEC in the suit.
Justice Dogo therefore dismissed the suit and awarded fifty-thousand-naira (N50,000) cost against Herman Hembe to be paid within seven days to APC.
