The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out a suit challenging the conduct of the national congress of the All Progressives Congress, holding that the matter bordered on the internal affairs of the party and was therefore not justiciable.
Trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, also imposed a total cost of N20m against the plaintiff, Fubara Dagogo, and his lawyer, Ogochukwu Onyema.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abdulmalik held that the dispute arose from the APC’s internal congress and nomination processes, which the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain under Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act 2026.
“It is my considered view that the subject matter of this suit pertains definitely to the internal affairs of the activities of APC,” the judge ruled.
She added that having found that the court lacked jurisdiction, all other issues raised in the suit had become “academic issues which will not serve any practical purpose.”
The judge consequently struck out the suit in its entirety.
Dagogo, an aspirant in the APC national congress, had approached the court to challenge what he described as his exclusion from the party’s national convention election despite allegedly purchasing and completing the required nomination forms.
