FCT elections: S’Court confirms Ishaku as APC flagbearer

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the dissenting judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang, confirming Joshua Ishaku as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2026 Bwari Area Council chairmanship election.

In a split decision of four to one delivered on Monday, Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, who read the lead judgment, overturned the earlier majority ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.

The appellate court had previously affirmed Haruna Audi as the party’s candidate.

The apex court resolved all issues in favour of Ishaku, ruling that the Court of Appeal was wrong when it held that his case was statute-barred. According to the Supreme Court, the “inevitable conclusion is that the appellant was denied the opportunity to be heard” and was “denied fair hearing.”

On whether the suit was premature for failing to exhaust internal party remedies, the apex court held “that the internal affairs principle is not absolute”. It added that “where issues transcend domestic party affairs, the court can intervene.”

The court further reasoned that “where a party violates its guidelines, the shield of internal affairs falls away.”

Agreeing that Ishaku emerged winner of the APC primary, the court held that it was the aggrieved party that ought to have exhausted internal procedures.

“It is contradictory to insist that the appellant ought to have exhausted the party’s internal mechanisms,” the court held.

The Supreme Court also agreed with Justice Abang that the dispute transcended internal party matters, as it involved an infraction of constitutional rights, Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act, and the party’s guidelines.

It held that only a loser in an election is expected to exhaust domestic dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court, not the declared winner.

The apex court added that each case must be analysed based on its peculiar facts and faulted the lower court for failing to fully evaluate the material evidence before it.

Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal was set aside, and the dissenting judgment of Justice Okon Abang was affirmed.

The court ordered the relevant authorities to publish Ishaku’s name as the APC candidate for the council election.

The dispute stemmed from the June 25, 2025 APC primary in Bwari Area Council.

The majority judgment of the Court of Appeal had upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court dismissing Ishaku’s suit on the ground that it was statute-barred.

However, in his dissent at the appellate court, Justice Abang disagreed with both the trial court and the majority.

He described the respondents’ position on when the cause of action accrued as an “imaginary position” unsupported by law or evidence.

Justice Abang held that the proper approach in determining whether the suit was statute-barred was to ascertain when the cause of action actually arose, which in the instant case could only have arisen when the name of the 2nd respondent was forwarded to INEC.

He reasoned that time could not begin to run against a litigant on the basis of a concealed or undisclosed act.

He further described the argument that the cause of action arose at the point of the panel’s alleged decision as a legal fiction deliberately created to ensure that the action became statute-barred and was never heard on its merits.

Justice Abang also faulted the trial court for failing to properly evaluate Exhibit J and Exhibit INEC 4, which he described as material to the just determination of the case.

The Supreme Court’s judgment now gives binding effect to that dissent, effectively settling the dispute over the APC candidacy for the Bwari council poll.

Join Very Nigerian WhatsApp Channel
For Verified Breaking News, Exclusive Reports, Trending Stories, And Real-time Updates.
CLICk HERE TO JOIN!