The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out the suit by one of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress APC in the just concluded party primary, BERNARD MIKKO against the APC standard bearer, Patrick Tonye-Cole, the Independent National Electoral Commission and OJUKAYE FLAG-AMACHREE for lack of jurisdiction.
Bernard Mikko had approached the court to direct INEC to disqualify TONYE-COLE, claiming that the primary election that produced him as the Governorship Candidate of the party on the 26th of May 2022 was marred with irregularities and that he has a questionable character following a report of white paper that indicted him.
But the presiding judge, Justice AYUA PHOEBE in her judgment said the Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit because the plaintiff failed to exhaust all the internal mechanisms of the party before instituting the legal action, insisting that the party was supreme.
Justice PHOEBE while describing the suit as frivolous and an abuse of court processes, ruled that MIKKO failed to abide by his earlier oath of allegiance sworn to APC never to institute any legal action and that he will support whoever emerged from the Party and thereby struck out the suit
Speaking to newsmen outside the courtroom, one of the Counsels to APC, CHINA CHIZIM expressed joy over the judgment in favour of their clients.
Meanwhile, ELI OJIGBA who is counsel to BERNARD MIKKO, said they will reach out to their client on the next line of action.
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