The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the nomination of incumbent lawmaker Abubakar Babazango as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency in Adamawa State. In a judgment delivered on September 17, 2026, the court recognized Abubakar Bashir as the valid winner of the party’s primary election for the seat, which is up for election in 2027.
Justice Chigozie S. Onah ruled in favor of Bashir in a suit filed against the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Babazango. The legal battle stemmed from a dispute over the outcome of the primary held on May 21, 2026, where Bashir secured 33,931 votes. He defeated six other aspirants, including Zayyad Tumba with 16,266 votes and Yusuf Garba with 14,611 votes. Babazango, who had defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ADC, finished last in the primary with 4,359 votes.
Following the primary, Bashir alleged that the party was attempting to alter the results to replace his name with that of Babazango. Mohammed Daud, speaking for Bashir’s campaign council, expressed shock at a list circulating online that purportedly showed Babazango as the winner submitted to the national headquarters. The ADC denied these allegations, stating there was no plan to manipulate the primary results, but Bashir subsequently sought judicial intervention to challenge the nomination.
The court found that the process used to accept and publish Babazango as the winner violated the ADC Constitution and its guidelines. Justice Onah cited Section 12 of the ADC Guidelines for the Conduct of Primary Elections, which permits the replacement of a declared winner only if the winner dies or withdraws from the race. The judge determined that neither condition applied to Bashir, rendering the acceptance of Babazango’s name unsustainable.
“It follows, as a necessary consequence, that the acceptance and publication of the name of the 3rd Defendant as the winner of the said primary election, having been founded upon a process which this Court has found to be inconsistent with the Constitution and the Guidelines of the 1st Defendant, cannot be sustained.”
Consequently, the court directed INEC to recognize Bashir as the ADC candidate for the House of Representatives seat and barred Babazango from presenting himself as the party’s candidate. The ADC was also ordered to recognize Bashir as its duly elected candidate and to comply with the Electoral Act 2026 and its internal guidelines in future nomination processes.
While Bashir had requested N25 million in litigation costs, the judge rejected the claim regarding solicitors’ fees. Instead, the court awarded N1 million in costs against the ADC and a separate N1 million against Babazango.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
