Rivers: Court Strikes Out Suit Challenging APC NASS Candidates

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out a suit filed by he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the national assembly candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

The PDP had gone to court seeking for an order to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify the national assembly candidates of the APC.

Delivering judgement on the matter yesterday, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Turaki Mohammed, dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

Mohammed held that the decisions of the Court of Appeal on the subject matter are binding on him and forms sufficient grounds to strike out the case.

However, the court did not award any  cost against the plaintiffs.

The Federal High Court had in a judgement delivered on Tuesday, also struck out a suit filed by the PDP against the governorship candidate of the Accord Party, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs.

But, delivering judgement on the suit against Accord governorship candidate yesterday, Hon. Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam, struck out the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

Daylop-Pam based his judgment on the recent decision of Appeal Court in Lagos and Rivers State, which revealed that no court has jurisdiction to hear any case file by another political party bothering on internal party affairs.

The judge insisted that any attempt by him to interfere in the matter after appellate court had taken decision on the similar matter will amount to rascality and thereby upheld the objections of the counsels to the defendants and struck out the suits by PDP.