Kogi West: Court Reserves Judgment in Suit Challenging Senator Karimi’s Candidacy
By Our Correspondent
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit challenging Senator Sunday Steve Karimi’s victory in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State, held on May 18, 2026.
Justice Salim Ibrahim reserved judgment on Monday after listening to arguments from counsel representing the parties in the suit filed by Aro Samuel Bamidele. The date for the delivery of judgment is yet to be communicated to the parties.
The suit, which lists the APC, Senator Karimi and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants, was initially instituted at the Federal High Court in Lokoja before being transferred to the Abuja division over security concerns.
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Bamidele is asking the court to declare him the winner of the APC senatorial primary and set aside the party’s subsequent submission of Karimi’s name to INEC as its candidate for the 2027 general election in Kogi West.
At Monday’s proceedings, lawyers to the defendants challenged the competence of the suit, arguing that it was statute-barred and should be dismissed.
Counsel to Senator Karimi, John Olusola Baiyeshea (SAN), argued that the suit was filed outside the 14-day period prescribed by Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, for instituting pre-election matters.
Baiyeshea noted that the APC primary was conducted on May 18, 2026, while Karimi’s name was submitted to INEC on June 29. He argued that Bamidele did not institute the action until late July, beyond the constitutionally stipulated timeframe.
According to him, the date of the event giving rise to a cause of action, rather than the date the plaintiff became aware of it, should determine when the limitation period begins to run.
The senior advocate also questioned the authenticity of the results presented by the plaintiff, alleging that they contained discrepancies, including the inclusion of part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s results from the presidential election in the senatorial primary results.
He further argued that the names presented by Bamidele as ward agents belonged to the House of Representatives primary election rather than the senatorial primary.
Baiyeshea told the court that the APC had, in a document filed before it, disowned the results being relied upon by the plaintiff, insisting that the party’s records contained the authentic results of the primary election.
He also claimed that Bamidele had withdrawn from the contest before the primary election, citing an announcement allegedly made by the plaintiff on his social media handle days before the exercise.
The lawyer maintained that the alleged withdrawal further undermined Bamidele’s claim to victory.
Counsel to the APC, A. G. Ivom, aligned with Baiyeshea’s submissions, arguing that there was no evidence establishing that Bamidele won the primary election.
Ivom maintained that the APC, as the party that conducted the exercise, compiled the actual results, while INEC merely monitored the process and prepared its reports.
Similarly, counsel to INEC, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), challenged the plaintiff’s case and urged the court to uphold the defendants’ objections.
However, Bamidele’s counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), disagreed with the defendants’ arguments, insisting that evidence before the court, including results allegedly obtained from INEC, demonstrated that his client won the primary election.
Usman acknowledged that the inclusion of President Tinubu’s results in the documents tendered by his client was an error but argued that the mistake was not sufficient to invalidate the entire case.
He consequently urged the court to declare Bamidele the winner of the APC primary and direct INEC to publish his name as the party’s candidate for the Kogi West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
With judgment now reserved, the legal battle over the APC’s senatorial ticket in Kogi West awaits the court’s final determination.
The court’s eventual decision is expected to determine the outcome of the challenge to Senator Karimi’s emergence as the APC’s candidate, although the matter remains before the court and no final ruling has been delivered.
DemocracyNewslineNewspaper October 19th, 2026
