Former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to throw out a case questioning Mr Bello's selection as the APC’s candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The defendants made this request in separate court documents opposing the case filed by Momoh Obaro. Obaro is trying to invalidate Mr Bello’s senatorial ticket from the APC.
The court session took place before Judge Inyang Ekwo on Monday. Lawyers for both sides presented their final arguments and asked the court to support their requests.
Mr Obaro, through his lawyer Kimi Appah, sued the APC, Mr Bello, and INEC.
In the suit filed on May 29, Mr Obaro asked the court to declare that he was the rightful winner of the primary election held on May 18. He claimed he scored the highest number of valid votes and that his name should be sent to INEC as the APC’s candidate.
He requested the court to stop the APC from sending Mr Bello’s name to INEC as the party’s candidate for the 2027 senatorial election.
Mr Obaro also asked for an order of mandamus, which would force the APC to recognize him and send his name to INEC as the properly nominated candidate for the senatorial seat.
In his affidavit, Mr Obaro stated that Mr Bello was not screened or approved as an aspirant in the primary election. He expressed surprise at hearing that Mr Bello was declared the winner and that his name was sent to INEC.
But Mr Bello wants the court to dismiss the case. In a preliminary objection filed by his lawyer Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), he argued that the case should be dismissed for being fundamentally flawed, incompetent, and lacking jurisdiction.
Mr Daudu claimed that the plaintiff’s documents did not meet the requirements of Paragraph 7 of the Federal High Court (Pre-Election) Practice Directions 2026 (as amended), among other reasons.
In a counter-affidavit, Mr Bello said he actually scored the highest number of valid votes, while Mr Obaro came in third. He stated that Mr Obaro received 188 votes while he scored 72,999 votes.
Mr Bello argued that Mr Obaro did not present the official result sheet from the primary election committee. He also said he was screened, approved, and certified to run in the primary election, which contradicted Mr Obaro’s claim.
He explained that after he was declared the winner of the primary election, which INEC monitored, the APC sent his name as its valid candidate. He denied withdrawing from the election in his counter-affidavit.
In response to Mr Bello’s claims, Mr Obaro submitted another affidavit. He alleged that although Mr Bello filled and submitted his Expression of Interest (EoI) Form and Nomination Form for the primary election, he voluntarily withdrew from the race.
Mr Obaro claimed he submitted the letter of withdrawal to the proper APC authorities and that it was never rescinded before the primary election.
He urged the court to grant his requests. The APC and INEC also filed documents asking the court to dismiss the suit.
In its counter-affidavit, sworn by Muhammad Ayuba from INEC’s litigation department, the commission stated that it monitored the election according to the law. INEC confirmed that the election, which had three candidates, was won by Mr Bello, who received the most valid votes.
INEC said all reports from electoral officers monitoring the primary election in the five local government areas showed that the election followed the Electoral Act, 2026.
When the case was called on Monday, A. T. Hassan, a SAN representing Mr Obaro, adopted all the plaintiff’s filings. He urged the court to grant their requests, including a motion to amend the main suit.
Lawyers representing the APC, Mr Bello, and INEC all requested the judge to dismiss the case. After listening to everyone, Judge Ekwo postponed the matter until November 19 for a ruling on the motion to amend or for judgment.
The APC’s National Assembly screening committee cleared Mr Bello to run in the party’s senatorial primary on May 18, after some uncertainty about his status. Initially, a document within the party had listed him as “not cleared,” but later the party confirmed his name among the aspirants approved to contest the Kogi Central primary.
Mr Bello competed in the primary against Mr Obaro and Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke. The direct primary took place across the five local government areas of Kogi Central Senatorial District.
Sadiq Mohammed, the returning officer, announced Mr Bello as the winner at the collation center in Okene. He reported that Mr Bello received 72,399 votes, winning in all five local government areas, while Mr Adoke got 319 votes and Mr Obaro had 188 votes.
This result made Mr Bello the APC’s nominee for the Kogi Central senatorial seat. Following this, Mr Obaro filed the suit to challenge Mr Bello’s selection before Judge Ekwo.
As of September 12, INEC’s final list of candidates confirmed Mr Bello as the APC candidate for Kogi Central in the 2027 National Assembly election.
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