Edo Guber: Appeal Court dismisses suit challenging Olumide Akpata’s candidacy

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Olumide Akpata as the Labour Party’s (LP) gubernatorial candidate for the September 21 election in Edo State.

The suit, filed by an aggrieved aspirant, Kenneth Imasuangbon, was dismissed due to a lack of verifiable evidence supporting his claims against Akpata. In delivering the judgment, Justice Okon Abang emphasized that Imasuangbon had not followed the Labour Party’s internal conflict resolution mechanisms before taking legal action, making his case premature.

Additionally, the court ruled that Imasuangbon had failed to present the disputed results from the party’s primary election held on February 23, which he claimed to have won. His argument that Akpata did not sign the Indemnity Form was also deemed irrelevant, as the issue was considered statute-barred.

The appellate court’s ruling upheld an earlier judgment by the Federal High Court in Benin, which had also dismissed the suit.