Court Dismisses Suit Against PRP, Donald Duke, INEC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Engr. Yakubu Muhammad Kingsley against the Peoples Redemption Party, its presidential candidate Donald Duke and the Independent National Electoral Commission over issues surrounding Duke’s nomination for the 2027 presidential election.

The judgment was delivered on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, after the court considered objections raised by the PRP and Duke against the case.

The court upheld the respondents’ preliminary objection, ruling that Kingsley filed the pre-election case outside the period allowed by law. A report on the judgment said the court found that the case was statute-barred because it was filed beyond the constitutional time limit.

The judge also considered the main issues raised by Kingsley and ruled against his claims.

One of the issues before the court concerned Duke’s membership of the PRP. The court held that membership of a political party is an internal matter of the party and therefore not an issue over which the court could exercise jurisdiction.

Kingsley had also alleged that Duke did not comply with the party’s screening guidelines. However, the court noted that although the plaintiff referred to the guidelines, he did not present the relevant document before the court to support his claim.

The plaintiff further challenged the results of the PRP presidential primary in Bauchi, Gombe and Kwara states, alleging over-voting during the exercise.

The court rejected the claim after finding that Kingsley did not provide key records, including the party’s membership register, accreditation documents and final results, to establish the alleged irregularities.

The suit had sought to challenge Duke’s emergence as the PRP presidential candidate and questioned the conduct of the party’s May 25, 2026 presidential primary.

Kingsley had also asked the court to invalidate results from the affected states and prevent INEC from recognising Duke as the party’s presidential candidate.

With the court’s decision, the case was dismissed and the issues raised by the plaintiff were resolved in favour of the PRP, Duke and INEC.