Court Shock For ADA As Judge Throws Out Suit Seeking INEC Registration

The case was instituted by promoters of the association led by Umar Ardo, who asked the court to order INEC to recognize and register ADA under the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The plaintiffs argued that INEC failed to respond to their registration application within the legally prescribed period and therefore the association should be deemed duly registered by law.

Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the suit was improperly filed and lacked sufficient credible evidence to support the claims presented before the court.

The judge upheld the objections raised by Chief Akin Ricketts and Aminu Ahmed, listed as the second and third defendants in the matter, who argued that the suit was initiated through the wrong legal procedure.

According to the court, the case involved disputed facts and allegations that required witnesses to testify and be cross-examined, making it unsuitable to be commenced through an originating summons.

Justice Nwite explained that the matter ought to have been filed through a writ of summons to allow oral evidence and witness examination before the court could make a determination.

Based on that finding, the court struck out the suit, holding that the improper legal process adopted by the plaintiffs rendered the case incompetent.

Although the suit was dismissed on procedural grounds, the judge still considered the substantive arguments raised by the plaintiffs in the event that the procedural ruling was later overturned on appeal.

On the core issues, the court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish their claim that Chief Ricketts had left ADA for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) before the suit was filed.

The plaintiffs relied on newspaper publications from ThisDay, Daily Post and Tribune to support their argument, but the court ruled that newspaper reports alone could not be accepted as proof of the truth of the claims contained in them.

Justice Nwite stated that such publications merely show that a report was made and do not automatically authenticate the facts reported.

The court further observed that the plaintiffs failed to present documentary evidence showing that Ricketts officially joined the ADC, noting the absence of a membership card, party register, payment receipt or any other supporting material.

The judge also agreed with INEC that the association failed to satisfy some constitutional and electoral requirements necessary for political party registration.

He pointed to inconsistencies in the names of interim national officers submitted to INEC compared with those listed in the association’s earlier letter of intent, adding that the plaintiffs could not adequately explain the discrepancies.

Justice Nwite ultimately concluded that the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to support their claims and consequently dismissed the suit for lacking merit.