The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed a suit filed by an aspirant, Madam Patience Key to challenge the emergence of Mr Kola Abiola as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a judgment, held that the suit was statute-barred, hence, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.

Justice Mohammed, who said the suit was a pre-election matter, said it ought to have been instituted within 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the cause of action in compliance with Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution.

The judge agreed with the defendants that though the PRP presidential election was conducted on June 5, the plaintiff filed the suit on June 28, when the case ought to have been instituted no later than June 19.

Mohammed held that though Madam Key raised weighty allegations against the conduct of the poll, which she alleged was marred by irregularities, vote buying, non-compliance with Section 84 of the Electoral Act and gross violations of the party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries, he said these could not take preeminence over failure to file the case within the time prescribed by law.

The judge consequently dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction to hear it, having been statute barred.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plaintiff, Key, had, on June 28, sued PRP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Latifu Abiola as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

Key, in her earlier originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1001/2022, had challenged the emergence of Mr Abiola as the party’s presidential candidate, among others.

She had prayed to the court to nullify the poll that produced Abiola as the PRP’s presidential candidate, among others.

But in an amended originating summons granted by the court dated Aug. 31 and filed on Sept. 2, the plaintiff sought a consequential order setting aside the submission of Abiola’s name by PRP to INEC on June 15 as the flag,-bearer and presidential candidate for 2023 election on account of gross violations of the party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries and the provisions of the Electoral Act.