Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 19, 2026, to deliver judgment in a pre-election suit challenging the emergence of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial District in the 2027 general election. Justice Inyang Ekwo reserved the matter for judgment on Monday, September 28, after all parties adopted their final written addresses in a case that has pitted a party stalwart against the ruling party, the electoral commission, and a former two-term governor.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2026, was filed on May 29, 2026, by Momoh Yusuf Obaro, an APC senatorial aspirant and the party's Diaspora Secretary. He is asking the court to declare that, having scored the highest number of lawful votes cast at the May 18 primary election, he was the lawful winner whose name should have been forwarded to INEC as the party's senatorial candidate. He also wants the court to restrain the APC from forwarding Bello's name to INEC and to compel the party to recognise and immediately forward his own name as the duly nominated candidate. In the alternative, Obaro has sought an order of mandamus compelling INEC to accept him as the APC's candidate and accord him all due recognition by publishing his name as required by law.
The dispute turns on competing accounts of what happened at the May 18 primary. Bello, through his counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, told the court that he polled 72,399 votes to emerge victorious. Another contestant, Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke, came second with 319 votes, while Obaro, according to Bello, came last with only 188 votes. Bello described Obaro's claims as outrageous, contrived and misleading, and urged the court to dismiss them. He also denied withdrawing from the contest, contrary to Obaro's claim that he submitted a letter of voluntary withdrawal to the party before the primary. In his counter-affidavit, Bello said he was screened, cleared and certified as qualified to contest, and that his name was submitted to INEC after his declaration as winner.
Obaro, however, insists that the figures and the process do not add up. In his supporting affidavit, he alleged that Bello was not screened and cleared as an aspirant in the primary election and that he was shocked to hear that Bello had been declared the winner and that his name had been forwarded to INEC. He further alleged that although Bello completed and submitted his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, he voluntarily withdrew from the contest. Obaro said the letter of voluntary withdrawal was submitted to the appropriate APC authorities and was never withdrawn by Bello before the primary was held. His lawyer, Kimi Appah, adopted all the plaintiffs' filings and urged the court to grant their prayers, including a motion to amend the main suit.
The APC and INEC, in their separate court documents, also urged the court to dismiss the suit. In its counter-affidavit, sworn by Muhammad Ayuba, an administrative officer at INEC's litigation and prosecution department, the commission said it monitored the election in compliance with the law. INEC said the election, which was contested by three aspirants, was won by Bello, who polled the highest number of valid votes and was returned as the winner. According to INEC, all reports from the electoral officers who monitored the primary across the five local government areas constituting the Kogi Central Senatorial District showed that the election was conducted substantially in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Bello's legal team has also challenged the competence of the suit on jurisdictional grounds. Daudu told journalists after the proceedings that his client had filed a preliminary objection arguing that the dispute concerned the internal affairs of a political party and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it. He said the defence had raised several technical issues, including the plaintiff's failure to seek leave before asking for an order of mandamus, which requires leave. Daudu said Obaro had conceded to some of the grounds and had withdrawn that particular prayer. The defence also alleged that some documents required to accompany the originating summons were not filed and that Obaro's written address exceeded the prescribed page limit. Daudu described these as technical issues while stressing that the central question remained the challenge to Bello's nomination.
The case has drawn attention not only because of the personalities involved but also because of Bello's broader legal troubles. The former governor left office in January 2024 after serving two terms from 2016 to 2024. He subsequently became the subject of two separate criminal trials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. At the Federal High Court in Abuja, the EFCC is prosecuting him on 19 charges involving the alleged diversion of N80.2 billion in a money laundering scheme. He is also facing a separate case of 16 charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust before the FCT High Court, alongside two co-defendants, over the alleged diversion of N110 billion belonging to Kogi State. Bello has pleaded not guilty in both cases and has denied all allegations.
The judgment on November 19 will determine whether Bello's emergence as the APC candidate will stand or whether Obaro's challenge to the primary will succeed. If the court rules in Bello's favour, he will proceed as the APC's candidate for Kogi Central in the 2027 elections. If the court rules in Obaro's favour, the APC will be compelled to forward Obaro's name to INEC, effectively replacing Bello as the party's candidate. The ruling will also determine the fate of Obaro's motion to amend the main suit, which the court deferred until the judgment date. For now, the parties have submitted their arguments, the court has reserved its ruling, and the people of Kogi Central are waiting to learn who will carry the APC's flag in the 2027 senatorial election.
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