A Federal High Court in Damaturu, Yobe State, has dismissed a suit filed by Mustapha Maihaja challenging the emergence of Baba Wali as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 general election.

The judgment was delivered on Monday, November 9, 2026, by Justice Fatima Amin. The decision brings Maihaja legal challenge to Wali emergence to an end at the Federal High Court level ahead of the 2027 polls.

Maihaja, who contested the APC governorship primary held on May 21, 2026, approached the court to challenge the outcome of the exercise. He alleged irregularities, including over voting and violations of the party electoral guidelines.

He asked the court to nullify the primary and set aside Wali emergence as the party candidate. Wali emerged as the APC governorship candidate after polling 236,711 votes in the May 21 primary election.

Delivering judgment, Justice Amin upheld a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit, ruling that it was statute barred. The judge held that the case was instituted outside the constitutionally prescribed time limit for pre election matters. In her ruling, Justice Amin said the suit was not instituted within the time prescribed by the Constitution. Consequently, this court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, as the action is statute barred.

The court also considered the allegations against the primary election and held that Maihaja failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate his claim of over voting. Justice Amin said even if the action had been commenced within the time prescribed by law, the plaintiff would still not have succeeded, having failed to prove the allegations of over voting against the conduct of the primary election.

The court therefore held that the suit would have failed on its merits even if it had been filed on time.

The court further identified material contradictions and inconsistencies in the testimonies of the plaintiff witnesses, describing their evidence as unreliable and insufficient to sustain the allegations. The judge said electoral allegations must be established by credible and cogent evidence.

The ruling was contained in a statement issued on Monday by Shuaibu Abdullahi, Press Secretary to Wali, who said the judgment affirmed the validity of Wali nomination as the APC governorship candidate in Yobe.

For Wali and the Yobe APC, the judgment clears a major legal hurdle ahead of the 2027 governorship election. Party supporters say the decision will allow the party to focus on campaign activities and mobilisation across the state. The APC in Yobe has continued to present itself as a stronghold, and Wali emergence with a wide margin in the primary was seen by his supporters as a sign of broad acceptance within the party.

Although the Federal High Court has dismissed Maihaja suit, the judgment does not necessarily prevent an appeal through the appropriate judicial process. No appeal against Monday decision had been independently confirmed at the time of this report. For now, Wali remains the APC governorship candidate for Yobe in 2027, with his ticket intact following the court ruling.