The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Wednesday adjourned a suit challenging the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency to 1 July 2026.
The presiding judge, Justice Mashkur Salisu, announced the adjournment following the absence of the third defendant’s counsel.
Tribune online reports that Hon. Princess Leah Olusiyi Solomon had approached the court, challenging the conduct of the exercise that allegedly produced the incumbent member, Hon. Prince Tafida Abas, as the candidate for the 2027 election.
According to Princess Solomon, the primaries were not conducted in the constituency, and she prayed the court to nullify the outcome.
Meanwhile, when the case came up for hearing, counsel to the third defendant failed to appear and did not issue prior notification of his absence.
Addressing journalists shortly after the court session, Barrister P. D. Pius, counsel for the plaintiff, expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the defendant’s counsel. He lamented that the third defendant’s counsel did not issue prior notification of his inability to appear before the court after being duly served.
“I don’t know why the third defendant’s counsel was absent in court. The counsel was duly served to appear today, but we are surprised that he failed to appear without any notification,” Pius said.
Barrister Pius urged the court to consider the legal implications and time wasted and to proceed with the case if the defendant fails to appear on the adjourned date.
