The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has approached the Federal High Court in Bauchi, seeking the disqualification of Tijjani Aliyu Mohammed, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) deputy governorship candidate, from the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election over alleged violations of electoral laws.
The suit challenges the legality of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) publication of Mohammed’s name as the PRP running mate, with the APM alleging that his name was missing from the party’s membership register submitted to the electoral umpire before the stipulated deadline.
The party is also questioning whether Mohammed was eligible to contest on the PRP platform, alleging that he remained a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when the PRP submitted its membership register to INEC.
Speaking with journalists in Bauchi, the APM’s legal adviser, Barrister Jidauna Tula, said the action was instituted in the interest of justice and fairness.
The suit, marked FHC/BAU/CS/70/2026, lists INEC as the first defendant, Mohammed as the second defendant and the PRP as the third defendant.
Tula explained that the legal action followed INEC’s publication of Mohammed’s name on October 10, 2026, as the PRP deputy governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
He said the party was seeking the court’s interpretation of Sections 77(4), 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act 2026, alongside relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
According to the APM legal adviser, the central question is whether INEC lawfully published Mohammed’s name when, according to the plaintiff, he was not listed in the PRP membership register submitted to the commission on May 10, 2026.
The party is also asking the court to determine whether the alleged continued membership of the APC affected Mohammed’s eligibility to emerge as the PRP deputy governorship candidate.
The APM maintains that compliance with electoral laws governing party membership records and candidate eligibility is essential to the validity of the nomination process.
In its prayers before the court, the party is seeking declarations that INEC’s publication of Mohammed’s name was unlawful, citing the combined provisions of Sections 177(c) and 187(2) of the Constitution and Sections 77(4), 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act 2026.
It also wants the court to declare that the publication was invalid on the grounds that Mohammed’s name was allegedly absent from the PRP membership register submitted to INEC.
Furthermore, the plaintiff is asking the court to rule on whether the alleged breaches of electoral law render the publication of his name null and void.
Tula disclosed that the party’s counsel, Luka Musa Haruna, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had also requested a mandatory order directing INEC to remove Mohammed’s name from the final list of candidates for the 2027 Bauchi governorship election.
The legal challenge relies, among other provisions, on Section 187(2) of the Constitution, which extends relevant provisions concerning the qualification and disqualification of a governorship candidate to the deputy governorship candidate.
The suit represents the second legal challenge initiated by the APM against the PRP’s candidates in Bauchi State ahead of the 2027 election.
The party had filed another action a week earlier, challenging the eligibility of the PRP governorship candidate, Senator Shehu Buba Umar, to contest the election.
