Court to hear case against Donald Duke's presidential bid

The Federal High Court in Abuja will hear a case challenging former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general elections.

This case was filed by an aspirant named Yakubu Kingsley and is set for hearing on Monday for the first time.

The case was filed on June 10 and is before Judge Mohammed Umar.

Hearing notices for Monday’s session have been sent to all parties involved in the suit.

Mr Kingsley, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1234/2026 and filed by his lawyer, D.A. Sulyman, is suing PRP, Mr Duke, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He asked the court to answer three questions in his originating summons.

The plaintiff wants to know if Mr Duke was properly returned as the presidential candidate of PRP in the primary election held on May 25, with results announced on May 26, given that he was not a registered member of the party as of May 4, when the PRP membership list was submitted to INEC.

He also questioned the alleged over-voting in states like Bauchi, where the registered members of the party are listed as 593 but total votes cast reached 760.

In Gombe State, he noted that there were 348 registered members while the votes cast were 1,431. In Kwara State, the registered members stood at 55, while the votes cast were 82.

He believes these issues should lead to the nullification of the primary election results.

He is asking for a declaration that Mr Duke, not being a registered member of PRP, should not have taken part in the party’s primary election held on May 25, where he was declared the winner the following day.

Mr Kingsley also wants the court to state that Mr Duke should not have been cleared for the presidential primary contest, as he did not follow the party's guidelines by attending the screening at its national secretariat.

Additionally, he seeks an order to cancel the presidential election results from Bauchi, Gombe, and Kwara states due to over-voting.

He is asking the court to declare him as the presidential candidate of PRP, saying he followed all the party’s rules and is a registered member of the party.

He also wants an order that would stop INEC from recognizing Mr Duke as PRP’s presidential candidate or from keeping his name in their records as the party's candidate.

The plaintiff further seeks an order for the electoral body to acknowledge him as PRP’s presidential candidate.

In an affidavit supporting his case, Mr Kingsley claimed he is a registered member of PRP with membership card number: 2A8D8B20B2.

He described himself as a “politician” from Auchi III Ward, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, but currently resides in Abuja, FCT.

He stated under oath that Duke was not a proper member of PRP as of May 4, when the party submitted its membership list to INEC.

Kingsley said he bought the party’s Expression of Interest Form and Nomination Form for the presidency, paying a total of N20 million.

He also claimed he completed all nomination requirements and received endorsement from enough registered party members as required by the party’s rules.

"I attended the presidential screening exercise conducted by the party from May 15 to May 19, 2026, at the National Secretariat of the 1st defendant in Abuja, as stated in the Aspirants Checklist for Screening, a copy of which is attached and marked as Exhibit 'BB.'"

He said he was screened and cleared by the party to contest in the presidential primary election on May 25.

He expressed his shock that Mr Duke’s name appeared as an aspirant despite not attending the screening with other candidates at the National Secretariat.

He said this went against INEC’s regulations that require political parties to submit the names of their registered members at least 21 days before the primary elections.

Mr Kingsley challenged INEC to show its membership register submitted by May 4.

He alleged that many party members raised concerns about Duke’s eligibility.

Besides that, he claimed the presidential primary election was filled with irregularities and manipulation.

He mentioned that in several states, the votes counted were more than the registered members shown in the party register.

Kingsley attached the result sheet from the presidential primary to support his claims of over-voting.

He also mentioned that his agents faced challenges in participating effectively in the collation process.

"I believe that the result declared in favor of the 2nd defendant does not reflect the legitimate votes cast by eligible party members."

Kingsley added, "When illegal and inflated votes are removed, I emerge as the aspirant with the highest valid votes in the presidential primary election."

He concluded by stating that he wrote this affidavit in good faith, believing its contents to be true and correct according to the Oaths Act.