A Federal High Court in Minna has dismissed an application seeking to amend the names of parties in a lawsuit challenging the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election that produced Yakubu Auna as the party’s candidate for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suit was filed by APC aspirant, Shehu Auna, through his attorney, Abubakar Danjuma. The case questions the validity of the APC primary election held on June 16, 2026, in which Yakubu Auna emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the constituency.
When the matter came up for hearing, counsel to the plaintiff asked the court to grant an application seeking to amend the names of parties listed in the suit.
The defendants, however, opposed the request, arguing that the plaintiff had not provided sufficient reasons to justify the amendment. They also maintained that granting the application would affect issues already raised in their preliminary objection before the court.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Abdullahi Aminu Dan-Ige, held that the plaintiff failed to establish adequate grounds for the proposed amendment. He subsequently dismissed the application, describing it as incompetent and lacking merit.
Following the ruling, the court adjourned the case until July 22, 2026, for further proceedings.
Reacting to the court’s decision, counsel to the plaintiff, Abubakar Danjuma, clarified that the ruling only affected the amendment application and not the main case challenging the APC primary election.
“Our application for amendment was dismissed, but that does not amount to the dismissal of the substantive suit before the court,” he said.
Danjuma insisted that the central issue before the court remains the legality of the APC primary election conducted in the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency on June 16, 2026.
“We are in court to challenge the purported APC primary election. The dismissal of the amendment application has no bearing on the substantive matter before the court,” he added.
