David Sabo Kente V. Darius Dickson Ishaku & Ors (2017)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MUSA DATTIJO MUHAMMAD, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Yola Division, hereinafter referred to as the Lower Court, in appeal No CA/Y1/106/2015 delivered on 29th June, 2016. The lower Court in upholding the preliminary objections of the respondents challenging the competence of appellant’s Notice of Appeal purportedly filed against the ruling of the Federal High Court, sitting in Yola, in Suit No. FHC/TAR/CS/14/15 dated 17th September, 2015, struck out the Notice. Dissatisfied with the lower Court’s judgment, the appellant has appealed to this Court on a Notice filed on 19th July, 2016 containing five grounds. A brief summary of the facts on which the appeal predicates is supplied immediately below.

The appellant commenced Suit No. FHC/TAR/CS/14/15 at the Federal High Court Jalingo by an originating summons seeking the determination of an only question thus:-

“Whether the 2nd Defendant for the purpose of selecting candidate for Governorship primary for Taraba State for the 2015 general elections can adopt a procedure other than stipulated in the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)

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the 2nd Defendant’s Constitution 2012 and the Electoral Guidelines for the primary elections 2014.”

The appellant urged the Court to, in the event of a favourable answer to his question, inter-alia, nullify the 2nd respondent’s:-

“Purported primary election conducted on the 11th December, 2014 with the view to selecting the party’s candidate for the 2015 Governorship election in Taraba State, and for an injunctive order to restrain the 3rd respondent from accepting and/or recognizing in any manner the name of the 1st respondent as 2nd respondent’s candidate in the impending election.”

Appellant’s Originating summons is accompanied by a supporting affidavit and series of annextures. His case is that being a card carrying member of the 2nd respondent and intending to seek election into the office of the Governor of Taraba State, he purchased the 2nd respondent’s nomination and expression of interest form. He also paid administrative charges in that regard. On submitting the forms, appellant asserts, he was screened and cleared by the 2nd respondent to contest its Taraba State primary election for the 2015 election into the Governorship office of

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the State. It is his case that the primary election was conducted in breach of the party’s Constitution, the Electoral Act and the guidelines issued by the 3rd respondent thus his claim at the trial Court.

Upon being served the originating summons, the 1st and 2nd respondents, in addition to their counter-affidavits in opposition thereto, filed notices of preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the trial Court to hear and determine same. In two separate rulings delivered on 17th September, 2015, the trial Court upheld, in each, the respective preliminary objection of each of the respondents and struck out appellant’s suit.

Not satisfied by these rulings, the appellant purportedly appealed against them. At the hearing of the appeal at the lower Court, the 1st and 2nd respondents raised a preliminary objection as to the competence of some of the grounds of appeal while the 3rd respondent, by his preliminary objection, challenged the competence of the Notice of Appeal filed on 22nd October, 2015 in its entirety. In upholding the objections of the two sets of respondents, the lower Court struck out appellant’s

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