Court dismisses the case seeking Timipre Sylva’s disqualification as governor of Bayelsa

The Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to disqualify Timipre Sylva, a former minister of petroleum resources, from running in the November governor’s race in Bayelsa State.

The lawsuit brought against Sylvia, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the All Progressive Congress (APC) was dismissed for lack of merit.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Ekwo determined that the plaintiff, Hon. Isikima Ogbomade Johnson, had not proven the claims made in the lawsuit to support Sylva’s exclusion from the governorship election.

The judge determined, among other things, that the plaintiff had not shown her claim that the APC had not staged a legitimate primary election that resulted in Sylva.

He claimed that the uncontested independent INEC report proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the APC held a legal primary election that was duly observed by the electoral umpire.

The plaintiff’s police reports, which alleged that the APC did not hold a primary election, were rejected by the judge.

Ekwo claimed that the alleged police reports were useless and the result of criminal activity because there was no legal requirement for the police to act in the plaintiff’s interest.

The court, among other things, criticised the police reports for not being on letterhead documents from the police department to give them the appearance of originality. He also stated that the role of the police during primary elections is to provide protection and safety to voting equipment and voters.

In addition, Justice Ekwo ruled that the majority of the documents submitted by the plaintiff were filed secretly, disregarding the accepted, established practises.

The lawsuit was also dismissed by the court since it was filed more than 14 days after the incident, turning it into an academic dispute that the court would not get involved in because it is not an academic institution.

“Overall, I believe the plaintiff’s case to be weak since it did not meet the legal standard of preponderance of the evidence.

“In a same vein, the plaintiff’s argument has no legal foundation after being utterly disproved by the copious exhibits offered by APC and Timipire Sylva.

“I make an order, dismissing this case and it is hereby dismissed for lacking merit,” the judge declared.

By way of an originating summons, the plaintiff had brought Sylva, APC, and INEC before the court and requested an injunction barring him from running in the next Bayelsa State governorship election in November.

He based his complaints against Sylvia on the facts that she had twice been elected to the position of governor and had twice taken the oaths of office and allegiance. In addition, he asserted that the April 14 primary election that resulted in Sylva was invalid and unconstitutional because it was purportedly conducted in violation of APC rules.