By Uthman Baba-Naseer, Minna
The Federal High Court in Minna, Niger State, has fixed July 16, 2026, to rule on an application by an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant, Alhaji Shehu Samaila Auna, seeking to amend his name in a suit challenging the party’s primary election for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The substantive suit seek the cancellation of the APC primary election that produced Professor Yakubu Mohammed Auna as the party’s candidate, with the plaintiff alleging that no valid primary election was conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act.
Listed as defendants in the suit, marked FHC/MN/CS/54/2026, are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mohammed Auna, Shehu Saleh Slow, Safiyanu Yahaya, Emma Alamu, and Sani Doma.
The plaintiff is asking the court to determine whether the APC complied with the provisions of Sections 84, 86 and 87 of the Electoral Act, 2022, in the nomination of its candidate for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency. He is also seeking a declaration that the nomination is invalid on the grounds that no lawful primary election was conducted, urging the court to nullify the nomination for allegedly violating the Electoral Act.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to the plaintiff, Mohammed Danjuma Abubakar, moved an application seeking leave of the court to amend the plaintiff’s name as contained in the originating processes.
The application was strongly opposed by counsel to the first defendant, Philip Adah, who argued that the request amounted to an overreach and lacked any legal basis at this stage of the proceedings.
Adah submitted that the application failed to provide sufficient reasons for the proposed amendment, insisting that the plaintiff should not be allowed to alter the name under which the suit was originally filed.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Aminu Dan-Ige, adjourned the matter until July 16, 2026, for ruling on the application.
Speaking with journalists after the court session, Adah maintained that the application to amend the plaintiff’s name was legally untenable.
“The plaintiff’s counsel has filed an application to amend the name earlier filed before the court. We are saying no. He cannot do that because the application is an overreach, and we have urged the court, as a matter of law, to dismiss it,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the court would consider the defence’s objections and deliver a ruling in accordance with the law.
However, counsel to the plaintiff, Mohammed Danjuma Abubakar, declined to comment on the matter, saying it was premature to address the media.
“It is not ripe for me to grant any press interview for now. I will speak to the press at the appropriate time. For now, I don’t have anything to tell you because the hearing has not even commenced,” he stated.
