Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit that sought to prevent Barrister Asue Ighodalo from being the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming Edo State election.

The case, brought by aggrieved PDP governorship aspirant Anselm Ojeizu, was deemed premature when filed on March 6.

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Justice Egwuatu ruled on Wednesday that Ojeizu had not exhausted the mandatory internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the PDP before approaching the court.

Ojeizu had sought an order to cancel the February 22 primary election that declared Ighodalo as the PDP candidate, claiming violations of the Electoral Act 2022 and PDP guidelines.

He alleged that a fraudulent delegates list was used in the primary held at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

However, Justice Egwuatu agreed with Ighodalo’s counsel, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), that Ojeizu’s failure to engage the PDP Appeal Panel before filing the lawsuit was a breach of party rules.

The judge emphasized that compliance with internal mechanisms is mandatory, as upheld by the Supreme Court in similar cases.

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“In a matter of this nature, conditions precedents must be respected and complied with by any aspirant as had severally enunciated by the Supreme Court in all its decisions,” Justice Egwuatu stated.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, emphasized the harmful effects of misinformation and fake news, comparing their impact to that of terrorism.

He praised media professionals for their role in the ongoing counter-terrorism efforts and urged them to avoid sensationalism in their reporting.

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Speaking at the opening of a two-day training workshop titled “Effective Reporting Towards Strengthening Alternatives to Terrorist Ideologies,” held at the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Idris cautioned journalists against spreading misinformation.

“Sensational reporting can inadvertently glorify terrorist acts and spread fear,” Idris stated.

“Misinformation and fake news can be as damaging as the terrorist acts themselves. You must avoid this at all costs.”

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Idris highlighted the ideological nature of terrorism, noting that extremist groups exploit vulnerabilities, spread fear, and propagate messages that falsely present them as fighting for a social cause.

He stressed the importance of providing positive alternatives to counter these narratives.

“To counter this, we must offer compelling, positive alternatives that resonate with the same audiences targeted by terrorists. Therefore, your reporting plays a pivotal role in this endeavor,” he said.

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The minister urged the media to project the successful initiatives and programs of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) that focus on counter-radicalization and the rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant terrorists into the community.

He called on defense correspondents to collaborate with security experts, sociologists, psychologists, and community leaders to offer a multi-faceted perspective on terrorism and its alternatives.

“Use data and research to back your stories, thereby enhancing credibility and depth,” Idris added.

Kaduna State former Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has filed a lawsuit against the Kaduna State House of Assembly, contesting allegations that his administration misappropriated N432 billion and left the state with substantial debt obligations.

El-Rufai, appearing in person at the Federal High Court in Kaduna on Wednesday, initiated a fundamental rights enforcement case against the Assembly.

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He claims the committee investigating his administration denied him a fair hearing.

According to a statement by El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, filed the lawsuit challenging the Assembly committee’s report that accused El-Rufai of corruption.

Adekeye stated, “His lawyer, AU Mustapha SAN, said that El-Rufai approached the court as a Nigerian citizen who is entitled to be given a fair hearing before his rights can be determined by a quasi-judicial or investigative body or courts in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”

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El-Rufai has asked the court to declare the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Investigation of Loans, Financial Transactions, Contractual Liabilities, and Other Related Matters of the Government of Kaduna State from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, as ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to fair hearing.

In June, the state Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted its investigative report on El-Rufai’s administration’s financial dealings, loans, and contracts.

The committee’s chairman, Henry Zacharia, claimed that the loans secured during El-Rufai’s tenure were misused and that proper procedures were not followed in some instances.

Assembly Speaker Yusuf Liman alleged that El-Rufai’s administration misappropriated N423 billion, leading to significant financial burdens for the state.

Barr. Bright Emeka Ngene, the Labour Party candidate for Enugu South Urban Constituency in the State House of Assembly, has accused the Enugu State government’s executive and judiciary branches of plotting to imprison him.

Ngene claims this alleged conspiracy is a punitive measure for his insistence on retaining the mandate he won in the March 18, 2023 House of Assembly Election.

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Speaking to journalists in Enugu, Ngene alleged that Chief Judge of Enugu State, Deputy Chief Registrar, and Magistrate have conspired to ignore a pending petition before the National Judicial Council (NJC), which had taken up his case.

He called for urgent intervention to prevent what he described as a severe miscarriage of justice aimed at ending his political and legal careers.

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Ngene had been declared the winner of the Enugu South Rural Constituency election and was sworn into the House of Assembly, but the court later overturned this decision following a petition by his rival, Sam Ngene of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to Ngene, re-run elections for eight disputed polling units in the constituency have been held twice but were inconclusive, and a third re-run scheduled for June 8 was canceled without notifying Labour Party.

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In his petition to the NJC, Ngene alleged a corrupt agreement between the Enugu State Chief Judge, the Deputy Chief Registrar, and the state government to imprison him before a re-run election can be conducted.

“there is corruptive agreement between the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, His Lordship A.R Ozoemena, the Deputy Chief Registrar, Chijioke Agbo, His Worship E.D Onwu, Esq and the Enugu State government to at all cost or willy nilly put me behind bars before a re-run is conducted over my seat in the Enugu State House of Assembly.”

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“Otherwise, why are these parties applying impunity in continuing with the trial when the NJC has accepted custody of the matter? The ideal thing is that parties in this matter should relax for NJC to decide but they are rushing the matter to put me behind bars and go ahead to conduct the re-run election.” He said

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“I seek the NJC to save me from oppression, persecution, and impeding wrongful conviction bathed by corruption and obvious abuse of judicial office and power.”

“Unless the National Judicial Council intervenes, the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, the Deputy Chief Registrar, and His Worship E. D Onwu will wrongfully and corruptly destroy my ambition to continue to be in the House of Assembly of Enugu State and dent my political and legal career with conviction,” Ngene petitioned.

Bright Ngene called on the NJC to intervene and prevent what he described as oppression, persecution, and potential wrongful conviction due to corruption and abuse of judicial power.