A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an application allowing court processes to be served on former Senate President, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, through substituted means in a suit challenging his emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Yobe North Senatorial District.
Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the order on Monday after counsel to the plaintiff, Hassan Kafayos, Mr Francis Mgboh, moved an ex parte application seeking leave to serve the processes through any adult found in the office of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense, a position currently occupied by Lawan.
Mgboh told the court that the application became necessary after repeated attempts by the court bailiff to personally serve Lawan failed, alleging that the senator had been evasive.
Justice Ibrahim granted the application and adjourned the matter until July 20 for hearing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that when the matter came up previously, only counsel to Kafayos and APC’s lawyer, Adedayo Adedeji (SAN), were present in court.
In the suit filed on May 29, Kafayos is challenging the APC primary election held on May 18, which produced Lawan as the party’s candidate for the 2027 Yobe North Senatorial election.
The suit lists the APC, its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Sen. Ahmad Lawan and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
Kafayos is asking the court to nullify the primary election, alleging that he was unlawfully excluded despite fulfilling all requirements to contest.
He argued that his exclusion violated Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC Constitution governing internal democracy.
The aspirant is seeking an order restraining the APC from forwarding Lawan’s name to INEC as the party’s candidate and preventing the electoral body from accepting or publishing his nomination.
He also asked the court to compel the APC, its National Chairman and INEC to conduct a fresh primary election or, alternatively, declare him the duly nominated candidate.
In addition, Kafayos is demanding N50 million in aggravated and exemplary damages against the APC, its National Chairman and Lawan over what he described as his wrongful exclusion from the primary election.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Kafayos said he lawfully purchased and submitted the party’s Expression of Interest Form, participated in the screening exercise and was cleared by the APC Screening Committee ahead of the May 18 primary.
He, however, alleged that upon arriving at the designated venue in Gashua, members of the election committee announced that only Lawan had been cleared to contest, informing him that he had been disqualified without justification.
According to him, the announcement sparked protests from party members and supporters, who openly endorsed him by chanting his nickname, “Iroko.”
Kafayos further alleged that police officers dispersed the gathering with tear gas, preventing the conduct of the scheduled direct primary election.
He claimed he later discovered through social media that members of the election committee had relocated to Lawan’s private residence in Gashua, where only a handful of people allegedly affirmed the former Senate President as the APC candidate.
According to the plaintiff, the process violated the party’s constitution, INEC guidelines and principles of internal democracy.
He said he subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the APC Appeal Committee in Yobe State but received no satisfactory response.
Kafayos urged the court to nullify the outcome of the primary election and order a fresh poll, arguing that the process lacked transparency and fairness.
Alternatively, he asked the court to direct INEC to disqualify Lawan and recognize him as the validly nominated APC candidate for Yobe North.
SOURCE: NAN
