Court Dismisses Suit Against Stella Oduah’s Candidacy

A Federal High Court in Abuja has today dismissed a suit filed to invalidate the nomination of Stella Oduah as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate in the Anambra North Senatorial District.

Naija News gathered that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the High Court in his judgement threw out the suit filed by the plaintiff, John Emeka, who is a senatorial aspirant under the PDP in the May 27 primary of the party in the state for being status barred.

Emeka had dragged Oduah, PDP, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively alleging that Oduah lied on oath in her expression of interest and nomination forms, including the INEC Form CF001 which she submitted to the commission for the 2023 Anambra North Senatorial District seat.

He advanced that Oduah, under the same oath, used the same information to participate in the previous general elections as the PDP’s candidate for the 2015 and 2019 polls for Anambra North Senatorial District.

Justice Ekwo had at the last hearing on October 13, fixed today for judgment in the matter.

In the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/841/2022 dated and filed on June 8 by his lawyer, Mbanefo Ikwegbue, Emeka prayed the court to declare that the information supplied by Oduah in her INEC Form CF001, with respect to her participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, was false.

Emeke noted that the act contravenes Sections 12(1)(a)(b)(c) and 13(1)(a) of the NYSC Act.

The PDP aspirant prayed the court to declare that by reason of the false information given in her INEC Form CF 001 in respect of her participation in the NYSC Scheme, she was not qualified to have contested in the said elections and or any other election into the Nigerian Senate.