Barr. Kenneth Imansuangbon, a former governorship aspirant of the Labour Party (LP), has escalated his dispute over the party’s gubernatorial nomination to the Court of Appeal.
This move follows his dissatisfaction with the rulings from the Benin High Court and the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Imansuangbon’s appeal targets Barr. Olumide Akpata, who was declared the LP’s gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming Edo State election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is also a party in the appeal.
On July 15 and July 22, 2024, Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Benin High Court and Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja dismissed Imansuangbon’s applications, respectively. Justice Quadri ruled that Imansuangbon’s lawsuit was premature and lacked substantial evidence, thereby upholding Akpata’s candidacy.
In the appeal filed in Abuja, suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/472/2024, Imansuangbon claims that the trial judges erred in their decisions, leading to a miscarriage of justice. He argues that the judges failed to consider Section 285(13A) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (fifth alteration) act, (No. 10), 2023. This section was brought to the attention of the lower courts during the hearings.
Imansuangbon contends that the learned trial judge made an error in calculating the timeframe for filing pre-election matters. He states that the period from the submission of INEC Form EC9 on March 24, 2024, to his lawsuit filing on April 12, 2024, exceeds the 14 days allowed by law, totaling 18 days instead.
The appellant is seeking multiple orders from the appellate court, including the setting aside of the lower court’s decisions and the immediate issuance of a certificate of return to him as the winner of the LP primary election held on February 23, 2024.
Furthermore, Imansuangbon challenges the Federal High Court’s refusal to consider the extension of time for filing responsive processes and asserts that this refusal violated his right to a fair hearing. He also criticizes the trial judge for misinterpreting the necessity of exhausting internal party dispute resolution mechanisms before filing a pre-election matter.
In his appeal, Imansuangbon is seeking several specific reliefs, including the annulment of all processes filed by the first defendant in the trial court, and the recognition of his victory in the primary election.
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