By Isaac Mission
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a legal challenge filed by former lawmaker Ifeanyi Ararume over the recognition of Patrick Ndubueze as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2027 Imo North Senatorial District election.
Justice Salim Ibrahim struck out the case after upholding a preliminary objection filed by Ndubueze, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because a similar dispute had already been determined by another Federal High Court of coordinate jurisdiction.
The judgment, delivered on August 26, described the fresh action as an abuse of court process.
Ararume had instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1569/2026, against the APC, Ndubueze and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking judicial recognition as the party’s candidate for the senatorial election.
Among his requests, the former lawmaker asked the court to order INEC to publish his name as the APC candidate and prevent Ndubueze from presenting himself as the party’s flagbearer.
He also challenged the decision by INEC to upload Ndubueze’s name on its candidate portal on July 11, asking the commission to replace it with his own name.
Ararume based his case on provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the 2026 Electoral Act and the APC Constitution.
However, Ndubueze, through his lawyer, Paul Ananaba, opposed the suit and asked the court to dismiss it for being an abuse of judicial process. He argued that the dispute arose from the APC primary election conducted on May 18 and had already been addressed by the Federal High Court in Owerri on June 25.
INEC, represented by Johnson Usman, told the court that it would abide by whatever decision was reached. The commission also explained that, under the current nomination process, political parties are responsible for uploading the details of their candidates through the access provided by INEC.
According to the commission, the APC uploaded Ndubueze’s name on July 11 and the name remained on its portal at the time the case was heard.
In his ruling, Justice Ibrahim said the preliminary objection had to be considered before the substantive issues in the suit, particularly in view of an earlier Supreme Court decision.
The judge agreed that the Abuja case and the earlier Owerri proceedings concerned the same subject matter.
Consequently, he upheld Ndubueze’s objection and struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction. The court made no order on costs.