In a unanimous judgment in appeal SC/CV/229/2026, titled Fayemi Tosin Babatunde vs INEC & 4 Ors, the apex court held that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the suit because they were not aspirants in the disputed primary election.
The court ruled that the absence of locus standi deprived the lower courts of jurisdiction to entertain the matter and affirmed the January 19, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, which struck out the suit.
The Supreme Court faulted the March 27, 2026 judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered by Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, holding that the appellate court erred by entertaining an appeal filed by parties without legal capacity to sue.
It further ruled that the Court of Appeal wrongly invalidated the SDP governorship primary that produced Ambassador Isaac Adebayo Alade as the party’s candidate for the June 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State.
Consequently, the apex court set aside the appellate court’s decision nullifying the primary election and vacated all pronouncements relating to the venue and conduct of the exercise.
The Supreme Court also held that the Court of Appeal acted without jurisdiction when it relied on an INEC report concerning a purported parallel primary election allegedly involving Engineer David Oludele Bankole. Those findings were equally nullified.
In another major aspect of the judgment, the apex court ruled that the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to make pronouncements on the SDP leadership dispute, including issues concerning Prof. Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, and set aside all such findings.
The Supreme Court, which heard six related appeals on May 12, 2026, ordered that the remaining five appeals should abide by the lead judgment.
“In the final analysis, the Court of Appeal ought not to have disturbed the judgment of the trial court,” the apex court held as it struck out the suit ab initio for lack of locus standi.