Court Rules In Favour Of APC NASS Candidates In Rivers

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has ruled in favour of the National Assembly candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, saying they are free to partake in the 2023 general elections.

Naija News reports that the presiding judge, Justice Turaki Muhammed on Wednesday dismissed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to stop the APC National Assembly candidates from contesting the 2023 general election.

Justice Muhammed in his judgement yesterday struck out the matter saying it lacked merits.

While delivering his judgement, Mohammed explained that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter which has an earlier judgement from the Court of Appeal.

He said the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the subject matter was binding on him and formed sufficient grounds to strike out the case.

It would be recalled that the PDP in the state in a suit FHC/PH/CS/127/2022 requested the court to disqualify the APC National Assembly candidates for alleged non-compliance with the new Electoral Act in the conduct of the party primaries.

The Rivers PDP also prayed the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist the APC from the ballot on that premise.

However, Mohammed held that his judgement is based on a decision of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt which upturned his earlier judgement on a similar matter, so a lower court could have nothing to do on a matter that the appellate court had settled.

Naija News gathered that while counsel to the PDP declined to comment on the judgement, the lawyer to the APC, Emenike Ebete said the judgement has given the APC candidates the freedom to take part in the elections next year.