Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 1 for hearing in a suit challenging the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election in Delta South Senatorial District.
Justice Umar adjourned the matter to the date for hearing shortly after the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1094/2026, was mentioned on Thursday.
While Prince Michael Diden is the plaintiff in the suit dated and filed May 30, Senator Joel Onowakpo Thomas, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respondents, respectively.
By the suit, Michael Diden is asking the court to declare him the winner of the May 18 direct primary election for the selection of the APC’s candidate for the 2027 senatorial election in the district, on the grounds that he scored the highest votes cast at the poll.
In the Writ of Summons filed on his behalf by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Bankole Joel Akomolafe, SAN, the plaintiff accused the 1st defendant of manipulating and announcing forged and fake results.
Michael Diden, in the statement of claim, stated that the National Working Committee of the APC, which organised the aforesaid primary election, announced the established procedures for the announcement of the result of the said election; that the collation and announcement of results would be conducted exclusively during an official briefing in Abuja after the submission of all results.
He averred that, contrary to the instructions, the 1st defendant immediately ran to various media outlets to pronounce
