A Federal High Court in Damaturu has dismissed a lawsuit filed by APC governorship aspirant Mustapha Maihaja against the emergence of Baba Wali as the party’s candidate for the 2027 Yobe State governorship election.
Maihaja, who contested the APC primary election conducted on 21 May 2026, challenged the outcome of the exercise, alleging irregularities, including over-voting and breaches of the party’s electoral guidelines.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Fatima Amin upheld a preliminary objection against the suit, ruling that the case was filed outside the constitutionally stipulated timeframe and was therefore statute-barred.
The judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because the action was not commenced within the period prescribed by law.
Beyond the procedural issue, Justice Amin also found that the plaintiff failed to provide convincing evidence to support his claims of over-voting during the primary election.
According to the court, the allegations were not backed by credible proof, while the testimonies presented by the plaintiff’s witnesses contained significant contradictions and inconsistencies that undermined their reliability.
The judge further stated that even if the suit had been filed within the required timeframe, it would still have failed because the allegations of over-voting were not substantiated.
Baba Wali emerged as the APC governorship candidate after securing 236,711 votes in the party’s primary election held in May.
Reacting to the ruling, Wali’s Press Secretary, Shuaibu Abdullahi, praised the court for what he described as a thorough consideration of the issues and reaffirmed confidence in the judiciary.
The judgment effectively ends Maihaja’s legal bid to overturn Wali’s nomination, clearing the way for the APC candidate’s preparations ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial election in Yobe State.
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