Ondo poll: Court dismisses Jimoh Ibrahim’s suit

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim challenging the candidacy of the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 2024 governorship election.

The dismissal of the suit, which is challenging the conduct of the primary election that produced Aiyedatiwa as the APC governorship candidate for the forthcoming gubernatorial election, followed its withdrawal by Senator Ibrahim.

The trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo had, on May 14 ordered the APC, Aiyedatiwa and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to file their defense in the suit seeking the removal of Aiyedatiwa as APC governorship candidate.

However, at Wednesday’s proceedings, Ibrahim’s lawyer, Mike Uche, informed the court that his client had resolved to withdraw the suit.

He told Justice Ekwo that the withdrawal notice dated May 27 but filed on May 28 had already been served on the defendants as required by law.

Lawyers representing various parties in the matter confirmed receipt of the notice of withdrawal by the plaintiff and did not object to the withdrawal notice.

Consequently, Justice Ekwo dismissed the suit in its entirety on the ground that parties have already joined issues with each other before the withdrawal.

Reacting to the judgement, the Attorney General of Ondo State, Mr Kayode Ajulo (SAN), commended Senator Ibrahim for allowing sense of reasoning to prevail on the matter.

As members of the same family, he urged the Senator to team up and work together for the common development of the state, especially in the forthcoming governorship election.

Senator Ibrahim, who is representing Ondo South in the Senate had, in his suit, prayed the court to cancel the nomination of Aiyedatiwa as APC candidate on the ground that the April 20 primary election that produced him was unlawful.

The senator, a governorship aspirant who participated in the primary election, alleged that the poll was marred with a lot of irregularities.

Among others, the senator claimed that Sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and that of 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 were grossly violated in the conduct of the disputed primary election by the APC.

He alleged that some delegates who could have voted for him at the primary election were not accredited to vote thereby making the primary election liable to be set aside and nullified.

Ibrahim, therefore, prayed the court to bar INEC from accepting Governor Aiyedatiwa as the APC governorship candidate in the coming November 16 governorship election and for Governor Aiyedatiwa from holding himself out or parading himself as the APC governorship candidate.

Similarly, Ibrahim wanted the court to set aside the purported primary election and compel the APC to conduct a fresh one in compliance with Sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and that of 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.