2023: Court dismisses suites against PDP Guber candidate in Taraba

Uhuru Samuel Jalingo 

A  federal High Court sitting in Jalingo on Monday dismissed two major cases filed against the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in Taraba, Col. Kefas Agbu rtd. challenging his emergence as the party’s candidate at the May 25th primaries of the party.

Delivering Judgement Tue separate suits,  filed by Professor Jerome Nyame and Mr. Buba Joda Mafindi respectively, Justice Simon Amobeda posits that the plaintiffs failed to prove their cases beyond reasonable doubts.

Amobeda insisted that both complainants failed to exhaust the internal mechanism for conflict resolution of their party before approaching the Court.

Justice Amobeda also held that the complaints  of lack of participation in the party primaries and screening of the party against the defendant lacks merit and was not substianted.

Speaking after the judgement, the Counsel to Professor Jerome Nyame Barrister Pius A. said that they would proceed on Appeal since they were not satisfied with the ruling of the judge.

He said that he was confident that they case against the candidate of the PDP was very strong and he was optimistic that the Appeal Court will upturn the judgement in favor of his client.

Barrister Musa Tende, Counsel to Col. Kefas Agbu who hailed the judgement as a victory for democracy said that they will be ready to defend their case even upto the Supreme Court.

“We are confident that the apex Court will also uphold the position of the  Federal High Court.

He called on the Plaintiffs and other aggrieved members of the party to “unite for the battle ahead instead of continuing to create unnecessary distractions”.

The state’s publicity secretary of PDP Mr Andetarang Iramae, reacting to the judgement said that the party has been vindicated by the ruling.

He said that it was unfortunate that the aggrieved members did not allow the party the opportunity to resolve the issues but headed to the courts instead. 

Iramae  assured that the party has put in place measures to resolve all the issues and put it’s house together ahead of the 2023 general elections.