Court bars Labour Party from FCT elections

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday upheld the decision to exclude Labour Party (LP) candidates from the upcoming Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Justice Peter Lifu, delivering the judgment, declined to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept or publish the list of LP candidates for the elections scheduled for February 21. The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the LP and its candidates in the FCT, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2110/2025, challenging INEC’s exclusion of their names.

The LP had argued that when INEC published its final list of candidates in September 2025, its duly nominated candidates were unlawfully omitted. The party also claimed that its logo was excluded from the official manifest of political parties participating in the election.

According to court documents, the LP wrote to INEC on September 8, 2025, raising concerns over the omission, and followed up with another letter on October 2, 2025, which the party said was ignored.

The LP urged the court to intervene, warning that its exclusion would prevent it from fielding candidates in the FCT Council polls.

In delivering judgment, Justice Lifu highlighted that the case was classified as pre-election litigation under the 1999 Constitution. He noted that the suit was filed on October 7, 2025, while the cause of action, the alleged exclusion of LP candidates, occurred on October 22, 2025.

The court held that under Section 285, paragraph 14(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), pre-election cases must be filed within 14 days of the cause of action, a condition the LP did not meet.