The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by a member of the House of Representatives, Miriam Onuoha, challenging the recognition of Uchenna Agasu as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Isiala Mbano/Okigwe/Onuimo Federal Constituency in the 2027 general election.
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Justice Salim Ibrahim held that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the suit because another division of the Federal High Court had already delivered judgment on the same subject matter.
The judge consequently upheld a preliminary objection filed by Agasu and held that the fresh action amounted to an abuse of court process.
Onuoha, who represents the constituency and chairs the House Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund, had approached the Abuja division of the Federal High Court seeking to set aside the upload of Agasu’s name by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the APC candidate.
She asked the court to direct INEC to upload her name instead and to restrain Agasu from parading himself as the party’s candidate for the constituency.
Agasu opposed the suit through his counsel, Paul Ananaba, SAN, arguing that the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri had already determined a similar dispute on June 25, 2026.
He contended that the earlier judgment remained valid and subsisting and that asking the Abuja division to entertain the new action would effectively require a court of coordinate jurisdiction to reconsider a matter already determined by another judge of the same court.
INEC, through its counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, told the court that it would abide by whatever decision the court reached.
The electoral commission also explained that under the prevailing nomination procedure, political parties themselves upload the particulars of their candidates through access provided by INEC.
According to INEC, the APC uploaded Agasu’s name on July 11, and his name remained on the commission’s portal as of the time the matter was heard.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ibrahim said the preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit had to be determined before the court could consider the substantive claims made by Onuoha.
The judge agreed that the earlier suit decided by the Federal High Court in Owerri and the action subsequently filed in Abuja concerned the same subject matter.
Justice Ibrahim stressed that it was immaterial, for the purpose of the jurisdictional question before him, whether the earlier judgment was correct or erroneous.
“This court does not express any opinion upon whether the judgement of Owoibo, J. was rightly or wrongly decided,” the judge said.
“An allegedly erroneous judgement is not thereby rendered nonexistent.
“Until set aside by a court invested with appellate authority, it remains a subsisting judicial determination which a court of coordinate jurisdiction is bound to respect.”
The court held that the proper avenue for challenging any perceived error in the earlier judgment was before a court exercising appellate jurisdiction and not through the commencement of another action before a judge of equal jurisdiction.
Justice Ibrahim further explained that although the Federal High Court operates through different judicial divisions, it remains one court under Section 19(1) of the Federal High Court Act, with the divisions created for administrative convenience.
He therefore held that the Abuja division could not sit on appeal over, disregard or effectively rehear a decision earlier delivered by the Owerri division.
“It follows that, having found that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the plaintiff/respondent’s substantive suit, the proper order to make in the circumstances is to strike out the instant suit,” the judge held.
Justice Ibrahim said the subsisting judgment delivered on June 25, 2026, by Justice I.N. Owoibo of the Federal High Court, Owerri Judicial Division, prevented the Abuja court from reopening the dispute.
He consequently found merit in Agasu’s preliminary objection and sustained it.
“I therefore find merit in the preliminary objection and hold that it ought to be sustained,” Justice Ibrahim ruled.
The court accordingly struck out Onuoha’s suit and made no order as to costs.
The ruling means that the court did not determine the merits of Onuoha’s claim that she, rather than Agasu, should be recognised as the APC candidate. Instead, the case ended at the jurisdictional stage because of the existing judgment of the Federal High Court in Owerri, which Justice Ibrahim held remained binding unless and until it is set aside by an appellate court.
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