On Monday, November 9, 2026, the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Damaturu dismissed a legal challenge seeking to invalidate the candidacy of Alhaji Baba Mallam Wali as the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer for the Yobe State governorship election.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Fatima Murtala Amin ruled that the suit brought forward by Engr. Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja, a disappointed governorship aspirant, was fundamentally defective because it was filed beyond the timeframe permitted by law.
Maihaja had initially approached the judiciary to dispute the integrity of the APC governorship primary election conducted on May 21, 2026, an exercise that declared Wali the winner with a total of 236,711 votes.
Within his legal filings, the disgruntled aspirant claimed various electoral infractions marred the process, pointing specifically to allegations of over- voting and a disregard for internal party election guidelines.
Why was the suit thrown out?
Delivering the verdict, Justice Amin sustained the preliminary objection raised against the litigation, confirming that the suit arrived outside the statutory period stipulated by the constitution, making it statute-barred.
Beyond the procedural failure, the presiding judge examined the substantive claims regarding over-voting and concluded that the plaintiff failed to supply sufficient, credible proof to substantiate the allegations.
The court noted that even if the legal challenge had met the timeline requirements, it would still have collapsed on its merits due to a lack of concrete evidence.
Furthermore, the bench highlighted significant contradictions within the accounts provided by the plaintiff's witnesses, rendering their testimonies untrustworthy and weak for sustaining legal claims.
Reactions from the camp
Reacting to the judicial outcome, the APC standard-bearer through a media release endorsed by his Press Secretary, Shuaibu Abdullahi, lauded the court for meticulously examining the facts of the case. Wali also expressed unwavering trust in the judicial system as a vital pillar for upholding the rule of law and dispensing justice.
This ruling clears a major legal hurdle for the ruling party in Yobe State as preparations ramp up ahead of the 2027 general elections, solidifying Wali's position at the helm of the state chapter's gubernatorial race.