In a final legal blow to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed its appeal concerning the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), bringing a protracted legal battle to a decisive close.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, described INEC’s case as lacking in merit and purely academic. The court also imposed a cost of ₦2 million against INEC’s counsel.
The dispute stemmed from INEC’s refusal to recognise candidates presented by the SDP for by-elections held across 12 states. The party had taken the electoral body to the Federal High Court in Abuja after its monitored primaries were disregarded.
INEC’s argument hinged on questioning the authority of the SDP officials who signed the candidates’ nomination letters, claiming they had been suspended. However, both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had previously ruled against INEC, ordering it to recognise the SDP candidates—a directive INEC complied with but still appealed.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris stated that the core of the appeal had “dissipated,” as the by-elections in question had already been conducted and winners sworn into office.
“Courts do not engage in the determination of academic questions,” the Supreme Court held, declining to rule on hypothetical interpretations of the Electoral Act in the absence of a live dispute.
This ruling marks the third consecutive court loss for INEC on this matter, affirming the lower courts’ judgments and ending the commission’s challenge against the SDP’s internal leadership crisis
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