Rita Odafe
On Friday, July 19, Olumide Anthony Akpata, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate in Edo State, narrowly avoided disqualification from the upcoming election by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu dismissed a lawsuit that sought to disqualify him from the September 21 gubernatorial race, deeming it legally insufficient and lacking in merit.
This marked the second time a disqualification attempt against him had been rejected.
In a judgment related to a case with registration number FHC/ ABJ/CS/472/2024, Justice Egwuatu ruled that the lawsuit was filed after the 14-day limit specified by Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution.
The lawsuit was brought by another Labour Party gubernatorial aspirant, Kenneth Imansuangbon, who wanted Akpata and his running mate, Oluyinka Faith Alufohai, disqualified on various grounds.
Imansuangbon alleged that both candidates provided false information in their submissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to secure clearance for the election.
He claimed that Akpata used different variations of his name in various documents, while questioning the identity of Oluyinka Faith Alufohai.
Imansuagbon argued that Akpata also held dual citizenship, which is against Nigerian law.
Akpata denied all the allegations and urged the court to dismiss the suit as it was filed outside the statutory 14-day timeframe for pre-election disputes.
Justice Egwuatu dismissed the case against Akpata citing the statute of limitations, as it was filed 19 days after the alleged cause of action.
The lawsuit against Akpata’s running mate was also struck out for being filed too late.
Justice Egwuatu did not award costs to any of the involved parties.
