An ally of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has taken legal action against the party and its Kano State leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso. This is over the results of the recent primaries.
Kwankwaso is Obi’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Shuaibu Abubakar, who was the second runner-up in the 2023 House of Representatives election for the Fagge Federal Constituency as the Labour Party (LP) candidate, filed the lawsuit with four other unhappy aspirants.
Abubakar wants the Federal High Court to cancel Aminu Suleiman’s nomination as the NDC candidate for the federal constituency. Suleiman had contested the 2023 election under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and came third behind Abubakar.
Joined by governorship aspirant Mukhtar Muhammad and three others, Abubakar is asking the Federal High Court in Kano to annul all primary elections held in Kano State by Kwankwaso. They want the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing any candidates from these primaries.
The originating summons was filed by Moses Falana of Nayara Legal Consult on behalf of the five plaintiffs: Abubakar, Mustapha Fanandas, Musa Yusuf, Mukhtar Muhammad, and Mahfuz Yahuza.
They are questioning the legality of the primaries held on May 28, claiming there were serious violations of the Electoral Act 2026, the NDC constitution, and the party’s rules.
The lawsuit raises key issues about the fairness of the primaries and how nomination forms were issued. The plaintiffs say the NDC wrongly allowed a single person to handle the sale and distribution of its Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms in Kano State.
They argue this setup enabled one party member to control who could take part in the process. The plaintiffs believe this violates the Electoral Act 2026 and the NDC’s own constitution.
The suit claims that there was no valid primary election under the law. It points out that there was a complete lack of proper delegate accreditation, voting, counting, or announcement of results.
The aspirants say they were denied access to nomination forms even though they qualified. This effectively blocked them from participating in the governorship, House of Representatives, and State House of Assembly primaries for the Fagge, Tarauni, and Gwale constituencies.
“The party breached its constitutional and statutory obligations by denying us an equal opportunity to contest and failing to provide a level playing field for all aspirants,” the plaintiffs stated in their court filings.
Reliefs sought by the plaintiffs
The plaintiffs want the court to declare that the entire primary elections held on May 28 by the NDC in Kano State are null and void. They also want an order to cancel the certificate given to Suleiman as the party’s candidate for the Fagge Federal Constituency, and an injunction to stop him from acting as the candidate.
Additionally, they seek a lasting court order that prevents INEC from accepting, recognizing, publishing, or acting on any candidates from the disputed primaries.
They want the NDC to hold fresh primary elections for the affected constituencies, following legal and party rules. They also ask for a refund of the N2 million paid by Abubakar for his Expression of Interest and Nomination Form, plus N200 million in damages for breach of contract and unlawful exclusion.
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