The Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has nullified the All Progressives Congress primary election that produced Ali Isa J.C. as the party's candidate for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency of Gombe State ahead of the 2027 general election.
Justice Vera Ibrahim delivered the judgment, ordering the APC to conduct a fresh primary election within 30 days and barring Ali Isa J.C. from participating in the fresh exercise.
The ruling followed a suit filed by an APC member, Alfred John, challenging Ali's eligibility to participate in the party's May 16, 2026 primary election and the validity of the process through which he emerged as the candidate.
The court held that Ali's participation in the primary election was invalid because his name was not contained in the APC membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission within the period required by law.
Justice Ibrahim consequently declared his participation in the May 16 primary invalid, unlawful, null and void.
The court relied on Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 in reaching its decision.
Under the provision cited by the court, political parties are required to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before conducting their primary elections.
The court found that Ali's name was absent from the APC membership register submitted to the electoral commission within the required period, making him ineligible to participate in the primary that produced him as the party's candidate.
The judgment also ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return issued to Ali following the May primary.
Rather than award the APC ticket directly to another aspirant, the Federal High Court directed the party to return to the nomination process and conduct another primary election in accordance with the Electoral Act.
Ali will not be permitted to participate in the court-ordered exercise.
The case was instituted by Alfred John, who challenged both the process and Ali's eligibility to participate in the disputed primary.
John argued before the court that the APC failed to comply with statutory requirements governing party membership and participation in primary elections.
The Federal High Court accepted the central argument concerning the membership register and consequently invalidated the exercise.
The decision means the APC currently has to conduct another nomination exercise to determine its candidate for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency, subject to any further legal steps arising from the judgment.
The case centres particularly on the requirements governing political party membership registers under the Electoral Act 2026.
The provision has become significant in several pre-election disputes following the enactment of the new electoral legislation.
Section 77 requires political parties to maintain membership registers and make the required submission to INEC before their primary elections.
In Ali's case, the Federal High Court found that the statutory requirement had not been satisfied in relation to his participation.
The ruling is therefore specifically about the APC primary for the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency and should not be confused with another recent Federal High Court judgment involving the Peoples Democratic Party's governorship ticket in Gombe State.
In that separate case, another division of the Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the earlier emergence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, as the PDP governorship candidate.
Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary after finding problems with the process through which Pantami initially emerged.
That ruling concerned the PDP governorship nomination, while Wednesday's decision by Justice Vera Ibrahim concerns the APC candidate for Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency.
The Pantami case followed suits filed by PDP aspirants Khamisu Mailantarki and Aliyu Usman Garry, who challenged the party's earlier nomination process.
The court found that duly screened and cleared aspirants had been improperly excluded from the process and ordered another primary.
The PDP subsequently proceeded with a fresh exercise.
The APC case involving Ali Isa J.C., however, was decided on the separate question of compliance with the statutory membership-register requirement.
The Federal High Court found that Ali was not contained in the relevant APC register submitted to INEC before the primary and therefore should not have participated.
The ruling comes as political parties face increased litigation over compliance with their constitutions, nomination guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general election.
A recent Supreme Court judgment also restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 dealing with political party membership and nomination requirements.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by INEC and restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act after they had previously been voided by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.
For the Balanga/Billiri APC, the immediate effect of Justice Ibrahim's judgment is that the May 16 primary that produced Ali can no longer stand under the Federal High Court decision.
The party has been ordered to organise a fresh exercise within 30 days.
The fresh primary will determine who represents the APC in the Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency contest for the 2027 general election.
Ali's certificate of return is also to be withdrawn in accordance with the judgment, and the court has expressly excluded him from participating in the rerun.
The Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency covers Balanga and Billiri Local Government Areas of Gombe State and elects a representative to the House of Representatives.
The latest judgment concerns only the APC's nomination for that federal constituency and does not affect the party's governorship candidate or candidates in other constituencies in Gombe State.
The ruling also does not automatically award the ticket to Alfred John, who brought the legal challenge.
Instead, the court ordered a new primary, leaving eligible APC participants to contest for the nomination through the fresh process.
Political parties generally retain responsibility for nominating their candidates, but those processes must comply with applicable electoral legislation and the parties' own rules.
The Federal High Court's judgment means the APC must now return to its members in the constituency and conduct another exercise within the timeframe ordered by the court.
At the time of the judgment, there was no reported announcement of the date on which the APC would conduct the fresh Balanga/Billiri primary.
There was also no reported decision on whether Ali or the APC would challenge the Federal High Court judgment at the Court of Appeal.
Unless the decision is subsequently altered through the appellate process or affected by another court order, the Federal High Court's directive requires the party to conduct the new primary without Ali.
The judgment adds another significant pre-election court decision in Gombe as political parties finalise their candidates for the 2027 elections.
Within days, separate Federal High Court decisions have affected nomination processes involving both the PDP governorship ticket and the APC's Balanga/Billiri House of Representatives ticket.
In the latest case, however, the order is clear: the May 16 APC primary for Balanga/Billiri Federal Constituency has been nullified, Ali Isa J.C. has been barred from participating in the fresh exercise, his certificate of return is to be withdrawn, and the APC has been directed to conduct another primary within 30 days.
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