Court fixes July 6 for Delta APC suit

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 6 for definite hearing in a suit challenging the outcome of the All Progressives Congress primary election for the Delta South Senatorial District.

Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the date on Wednesday after counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Bankole Akomolafe, sought a short adjournment to enable him respond to the statement of defence filed by the first defendant, Senator Joel Onowakpo.

Akomolafe told the court that although the defence had been filed since June 24, it was only served on him shortly before Wednesday’s proceedings, leaving him with insufficient time to file a reply.

The senior lawyer, who represents a former Chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, Micheal Diden, said the matter was originally scheduled for hearing and that he was ready to proceed but needed about two days to respond to the defence.

Following the agreement of counsel, Justice Umar adjourned the case until July 6 for definite hearing and directed all parties to file and exchange outstanding processes before the next sitting.

The judge also ordered that fresh hearing notices be served on all parties ahead of the hearing in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1094/2026.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, Lukman Fagbemi, appeared for the APC, while the Independent National Electoral Commission was not represented in court despite being served with a hearing notice.

Diden is asking the court to declare him the winner of the APC direct primary conducted on May 18, 2026, for the Delta South Senatorial District, alleging that he polled the highest number of lawful votes.

The plaintiff joined Senator Onowakpo, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission as first, second and third defendants respectively.

Related News Some causes of 1967 civil war still with us, says Obasanjo

INEC partners NOA on grassroots campaign to fight voter apathy

Makinde announces minor cabinet reshuffle, sacks commissioner

In his statement of claim, Diden alleged that Onowakpo unlawfully declared himself winner of the primary by relying on what he described as forged results.

He contended that the APC National Working Committee had directed that the collation and announcement of the primary election results would be conducted only in Abuja after submission of results from the field.

According to him, contrary to that directive, the first defendant announced himself winner through various media platforms.

Diden further alleged that Onowakpo and others manipulated the results and falsely declared him winner of the primary.

He claimed that authentic ward results from the eight local government areas in the senatorial district showed that he scored 96,893 votes against Onowakpo’s 31,918 votes.

The plaintiff also told the court that party leaders, stakeholders, women, youths and members of the APC in the district petitioned the party’s national leadership to reject what they described as the fraudulent declaration of Onowakpo as winner.

Among the reliefs sought, Diden is asking the court to declare him the valid winner of the primary election and order the APC to forward his name to INEC as its candidate for the 2027 Delta South Senatorial election.

He is also seeking an order directing INEC to accept his nomination from the APC.

Nathaniel Shaibu

Nathaniel Shaibu is a correspondent at The PUNCH with three years of professional journalism experience. He covers the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), civil society, religion, and the Ministries of Women Affairs and Youth Development. In addition to his primary beats, Nathaniel also reports on politics, metro, security, and judicial matters, bringing clarity and balance to a wide range of public-interest stories. His work reflects hands-on newsroom experience, strong beat knowledge, and a commitment to accurate, responsible journalism.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]