Court Strikes Out Suit Challenging Dumo Lulu-Briggs’ NDC Governorship Candidacy

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out a suit challenging the emergence of Dumo Lulu-Briggs as the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The suit was instituted by an NDC governorship aspirant, Kings Unyeawaji, against the party, its National Chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lulu-Briggs.

Unyeawaji alleged that he was excluded from the party’s governorship primary and asked the court to nullify Lulu-Briggs’ emergence as the NDC candidate.

Counsel to Lulu-Briggs, Ibim Dokubo, challenged the jurisdiction of the court and the plaintiff’s locus standi, arguing that Unyeawaji lacked the legal standing to institute the suit because he did not participate in the governorship primary.

Dokubo also contended that the action was statute-barred, having been filed outside the 14-day period prescribed by law for disputes arising from party primaries.

When the matter came up before Justice Muhammed Turaki, counsel to the plaintiff applied to withdraw the suit. The application was not opposed by the defendants, prompting the court to strike out the case.

Reacting to the ruling, Lulu-Briggs welcomed the development and commended the plaintiff for allowing the matter to end peacefully.

He urged political stakeholders to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“I thank him for allowing the matter to rest. My hope is that in 2027, everyone who contests the election will accept the outcome in good faith.

“We are all Rivers people. There are no monsters among us. Let us go to the field, contest on a level playing ground, and allow the people to decide,” he said.