A court in Abuja, called the Federal High Court, has thrown out a lawsuit that was trying to disqualify Timipire Sylva from running in the governorship election in Bayelsa State. The lawsuit was filed against the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Sylva himself. The court decided that the lawsuit did not have enough evidence to support disqualifying Sylva.
The judge, Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo, said that the person who filed the lawsuit, Hon Isikima Ogbomade Johnson, did not prove the claims made in the lawsuit. One of the claims was that the APC did not hold a fair primary election to choose Sylva as their candidate. However, the judge said that the Independent National Electoral Commission had confirmed that a valid primary election did take place, which means that Sylva was chosen properly.
The judge also said that the police reports that were submitted as evidence by the plaintiff were not valid because the police did not have the authority to do what they did. The reports were also not on official police letterhead, which made them seem less credible. The judge also criticized the plaintiff for not following the proper procedures when submitting documents to the court.
The person who filed the lawsuit, Hon Isikima Ogbomade Johnson, wanted Sylva to be disqualified from the governorship election for two reasons. First, Johnson claimed that Sylva had already been elected as governor twice before, which is not allowed. Second, Johnson said that the primary election that chose Sylva as the APC candidate was done illegally and against the party’s rules.
In the end, the judge decided that the lawsuit did not have enough evidence to support disqualifying Sylva. The judge dismissed the case, meaning that Sylva can still participate in the governorship election in Bayelsa State.
