A Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin on Wednesday struck out an application challenging the outcome of the 2024 election of the Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), ruling that the case was incompetent.
The application sought to overturn the election that returned the incumbent chairman, Abdullateef ‘Lanre Ahmed, for a second term in office.
The appellate court panel, led by Justice Abdu Dogo, delivered the ruling during a virtual sitting.
Parties listed as defendants in the case included the state NUJ chairman, Abdullateef ‘Lanre Ahmed; former NUJ National President, Christopher Isiguzo; NUJ National Secretary, Achike Jude; former NUJ Zone ‘D’ Vice President, Christopher Atsaka; Chairman of the Kwara NUJ Credential Committee, Abdulhamid Funsho Alaiye; the committee’s Secretary, Sulyman Bolaji Gobir; and the NUJ National Secretariat.
In an earlier related development, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Ibadan struck out a similar application seeking joinder in a separate suit challenging disqualification from the NUJ triennial conference, also known as the election.
The lower court dismissed the suit in its entirety and awarded costs of N100,000 against the claimant for wasting judicial time following the withdrawal of the substantive suit.
The court directed that the amount be paid to each of the seven defendants, bringing the total cost to N700,000.
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