Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit brought by the impeached Deputy Governor of Edo State, and others.
They sought to invalidate Asue Ighodalo’s nomination as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
In the judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Omotoso ruled that the suit, which challenged Ighodalo’s qualification based on the alleged forgery of his voter’s card, was statute-barred.
The judge noted that the case, being a pre-election matter, was filed beyond the 14-day limit stipulated under Section 285(9) of the Constitution.
Furthermore, Justice Omotoso stated that while forgery or the lack of a voter’s card is a disqualifying factor under Section 182 of the Constitution, the plaintiffs failed to prove that Ighodalo had forged his voter’s card.
Consequently, the case was dismissed for lacking merit.
