Court Approves Substituted Service on Kwara North PDP Senatorial Candidate in Pre-Election Suit

The Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has granted an application permitting the substituted service of court processes on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Kwara North, Dr. Kolo Baba Jiya, in a pre-election suit challenging his nomination.

The order was made in Suit No. FHC/IL/CS/136/2026, instituted by former Commissioner for Works and Transport, Sulaiman Rotimi Iliasu, against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP and Jiya Kolo.

In the order endorsed on September 30, 2026, Hon. Justice Ariwoola Olukayode Jnr. granted the applicant leave to serve the third respondent through substituted means.

The application followed a Motion Ex-Parte dated and filed on September 25, 2026, pursuant to Order 6 Rule 5 and Order 26 Rule 8(1) and (9) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.

The court authorised the originating processes and other accompanying documents to be served on Jiya Kolo either by delivering them to an adult at his last known place of business or by posting them conspicuously at the premises.

The address specified in the order is Golden Sands Hotel and Suites, Olohunoje Road, Off Babatunde Yinus Street, Irewolede Area, Ilorin, Kwara State.

The court further directed that the respondents, upon being served, should enter appearance within seven days.

The substantive suit, brought under Section 285(14) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and the Federal High Court Rules, seeks judicial determination of issues surrounding the nomination and substitution of candidates for elective office.

Iliasu is challenging the circumstances surrounding the emergence of Jiya Kolo as the PDP candidate for the Kwara North Senatorial District.

The case is one of the pre-election disputes emerging ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the legality of candidate nomination and substitution increasingly becoming the subject of litigation.

Supreme Court Judgment

The development also comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s recent judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, marked SC/CR/495/2026, concerning provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party membership registers and candidate nomination.

The seven-member panel led by Justice Adamu Jauro, on September 24, 2026, allowed INEC’s appeal and set aside the earlier Court of Appeal decision that had voided Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. Reports on the judgment indicate that the apex court restored the disputed provisions and awarded costs against the Zenith Labour Party.

The Supreme Court ruling has since featured prominently in discussions around party membership registers, primaries and the nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.

However, the Federal High Court’s latest order in the Kwara North case is procedural in nature. It permits the applicant to effect service of the suit on Jiya Kolo through an alternative method; it does not, by itself, determine the substantive questions raised against his candidacy.

The substantive issues in the suit will therefore be determined as the case progresses before the Federal High Court in Ilorin.