Edo Election: Court Rejects Imasuagbon’s Challenge to Akpata’s Candidacy

The Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, dismissed a lawsuit on Monday filed by Kenneth Imasuagbon challenging the candidacy of Labour Party’s governorship candidate, Olumide Akpata, for the 2024 governorship election in the state.

Justice Babatunde Quadri ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which was deemed meritless and speculative. The court also noted that Imasuagbon had not exhausted the Labour Party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before seeking legal action.

Additionally, the court found Imasuagbon’s claim that Akpata did not sign the indemnity form to be statute-barred, further stripping the court of jurisdiction.

In its judgment, the court declared the lawsuit premature and lacking substantial evidence. Justice Quadri stated, “This court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit. It lacks merit and is based on speculation. The claimant failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before seeking legal action, hence robbing the court of jurisdiction. The claim that Akpata did not sign the indemnity form is statute-barred and therefore, the court lacks jurisdiction.”

The ruling upheld Akpata as the Labour Party candidate for the upcoming state governorship election.

Previously, Imasuagbon had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging Akpata’s nomination on the grounds that the Labour Party did not follow electoral guidelines in the primaries and alleging over-voting.

Akpata was declared the winner of the primary election conducted by the Julius Abure faction of the Labour Party on February 23, defeating Imasuagbon and four others. Meanwhile, the Lamidi Apapa faction had written to the Independent National Electoral Commission on February 22, 2024, stating that Anderson Asemota and Monday Mawah were the Labour Party’s governorship candidate and running mate, respectively.