Judiciary
Reasons APC Drag Nami, Ndarani to Court
The governorship candidacies of former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mallam Mohammed Mamman Nami, under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed, SAN, under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), have suffered a setback as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has instituted legal action against them.
The APC filed the legal action against the candidates and others at the Federal High Court, Minna Division, following their defection to opposition parties alongside a large number of their supporters.
The litigation, filed at the Federal High Court in Minna, also joined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the first defendant. The legal action was instituted by eleven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), led by Jacob Johnson Usman of OJOCHOGWU Chambers in Abuja.
Other parties joined as defendants include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), National Democratic Congress (NDC) and several individuals.
The individuals named in the originating summons include Peter Jiya, Sadiq Mohammed Rabiu, Musa Mamman, Alhassan Adamu Sonfada, Umar Isah, Abubakar Ndanusa and Zango Danlami Idris.
The latest legal action, according to findings in Minna, is connected to the controversy surrounding the defection of former APC members to opposition political parties without allegedly completing the formal process of resigning their membership of the ruling party.
The fresh litigation comes amid growing political realignments in Niger State following disagreements over the APC’s May 2026 primary elections and the emergence of opposition candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nami, who emerged as the PDP governorship candidate, and Ndarani, the SDP governorship candidate, were among prominent APC stakeholders who subsequently moved to opposition platforms after disagreements within the ruling party.
Their departure has reshaped the political landscape in the state, with the opposition parties seeking to consolidate support ahead of the next governorship election.
The originating summons identifies the APC as the plaintiff, with the case instituted at the Federal High Court, Minna Judicial Division.
The development introduces another legal dimension to the political disagreement between the ruling party and some of its former members.