The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by Senator Ifeanyi Araraume challenging the recognition of Senator Patrick Ndubueze as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo North Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment delivered on August 26, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit because the same subject matter had already been determined by a court of coordinate jurisdiction.
The judge consequently upheld a preliminary objection filed by Ndubueze, describing Araraume’s suit as an abuse of court process.
The certified true copy of the judgment was sighted on Friday by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Araraume, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1569/2026, had sued the APC, Ndubueze and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the party’s nomination for the Imo North senatorial seat.
The former lawmaker had asked the court to direct INEC to recognise and publish his name as the APC candidate for the district in the 2027 elections.
He also sought an injunction restraining Ndubueze from parading himself as the party’s candidate.
In addition, Araraume, through his counsel, George Ibrahim, SAN, asked the court to set aside the purported uploading of Ndubueze’s name on the INEC portal on July 11 and direct the commission to upload his own name as the APC candidate.
His originating summons was brought pursuant to Sections 6(6)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution, Sections 84(1) and 88(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, and Articles 20(ii)(a) and (iii) of the APC Constitution.
However, APC and Ndubueze opposed the suit.
Ndubueze, through his counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the case for being a gross abuse of court process.
Alternatively, he asked the court to strike it out for want of jurisdiction.
He argued that the dispute over the APC primary election held on May 18 had already been determined by the Federal High Court in Owerri on June 25 in Suit No. FHC/OW/CS/70/2026.
INEC, in its affidavit of facts and written address filed by its counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, said it would abide by the decision of the court.
Usman, however, explained that under the prevailing nomination arrangement, political parties uploaded the particulars of their candidates through access granted by INEC.
He said the APC had uploaded Ndubueze’s name on July 11 and that the name remained on the commission’s portal as of the date of hearing.
In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim said the court was required to first determine the preliminary objection before proceeding to the substantive matter, in line with established judicial principles.
He agreed with Ndubueze that the suit before him and the earlier Owerri case concerned the same subject matter.
The judge said the Abuja court could not sit in judgment over a decision of a court of coordinate jurisdiction, irrespective of whether the earlier judgment was considered right or wrong.
“This court does not express any opinion upon whether the judgment of Owoibo, J. was rightly or wrongly decided.
“An allegedly erroneous judgment is not thereby rendered nonexistent.
“Until set aside by a court invested with appellate authority, it remains a subsisting judicial determination which a court of coordinate jurisdiction is bound to respect,” he held.
Justice Ibrahim further noted that the Federal High Court remained one court, with its different divisions created for administrative convenience under the Federal High Court Act.
He cited the Supreme Court decision in Orji v. Chima, among others, in support of the position.
The judge consequently held that the Abuja division lacked jurisdiction to entertain Araraume’s substantive suit and that filing the case amounted to a gross abuse of court process.
He therefore sustained Ndubueze’s preliminary objection and struck out Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1569/2026.
“There shall be no order as to costs,” the judge ruled.
