The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Mr. Fubara Dagogo, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenging the party’s recently conducted national congress.
In her judgment delivered on May 11, 2026, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, as it involved internal party matters. She explained that issues relating to the nomination of candidates and the purchase of nomination forms, including the expression of interest form, are non-justiciable and fall outside the court’s purview.
As part of the ruling, Justice Abdulmalik struck out Dagogo’s suit and imposed a N20 million fine on the plaintiff and his legal representative. The fine, N10 million each, was awarded to the four defendants, which included the APC and its national officers.
Dagogo, an aspirant in the APC national congress, had filed the lawsuit alleging that he was unlawfully excluded from the party’s national convention election. His legal team, led by Ogochukwu Onyema, named the APC, its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and two other party officials, Victor Giadom and Sulaiman Muitamma, as defendants.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/591/2026, was filed on March 23, 2026, and Dagogo sought several remedies. He requested the court to nullify the results of the APC congress for the South-South National Vice Chairman position, claiming that he was wrongfully excluded despite having paid for the necessary forms. He also demanded compensation for the mental distress and embarrassment caused by his exclusion.
However, the APC’s legal team, led by Kayode Okunade, countered the suit with a preliminary objection. Okunade argued that the case was an internal party matter and thus non-justiciable. He also contended that Dagogo failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms, which are required under APC’s constitution.
The court sided with the APC, ruling that it had no jurisdiction to interfere with the party’s internal processes. This ruling emphasizes the judiciary’s reluctance to become involved in party affairs, particularly in disputes related to internal elections.
