The Court has adjourned until July 16 a suit challenging the emergence of former Cross River Governor Donald Duke as the Peoples Redemption Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until July 16, 2026, the hearing of a suit seeking to nullify the emergence of former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the new hearing date on Tuesday after counsel to the plaintiff, Felix Ipogah, requested an adjournment to enable him to serve the first and second defendants with a counter-affidavit to their joint preliminary objection.
The suit was filed by a presidential aspirant, Dr Yakubu Kingsley, against Donald Duke, the PRP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At the proceedings, Kingsley’s counsel, D.A. Sulyman, informed the court that although the plaintiff had filed a counter-affidavit in response to the preliminary objection raised by Duke and the PRP, the documents had not yet been served on the defendants.
Counsel for Duke and the PRP, Nuel Akaputu, as well as INEC’s lawyer, Azubuike Ugochukwu, did not oppose the request for an adjournment, prompting the court to fix July 16 for hearing.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026, Kingsley is challenging the outcome of the PRP presidential primary election held on May 25, 2026.
He is asking the court to determine whether Duke was validly returned as the party’s presidential candidate, alleging that over-voting occurred during the primary election in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states.
The plaintiff further contends that Duke was not a registered member of the PRP at the time the party submitted its membership register to INEC on May 4, making him ineligible to participate in the primary election.
Kingsley is seeking an order setting aside the results of the presidential primary conducted in the affected states and declaring him the valid PRP presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, arguing that he fulfilled all the party’s requirements and is a registered member.
He is also asking the court to direct INEC not to recognise Duke as the PRP presidential candidate, to remove his name from its records and to recognise Kingsley as the party’s lawful flagbearer.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Kingsley stated that he is a registered member of the PRP and presented his membership card details. He also claimed to have paid N20 million for the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.
However, Donald Duke and the PRP have challenged the competence of the suit through a joint preliminary objection filed on June 23, 2026.
Their counsel, Noah Abdul, argued that the case is a pre-election matter governed by Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires such suits to be filed within 14 days of the event being challenged.
According to the defendants, the cause of action arose on May 26, 2026, when Duke was declared the winner of the primary election, while the suit was filed on June 11, 2026, outside the constitutionally prescribed 14-day period.
They argued that the action is therefore statute-barred and that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it. The defendants also maintained that disputes relating to party membership are internal affairs of a political party and are not justiciable, urging the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing on July 16, 2026.
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