By Emmanuel Daniji

The Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned a suit challenging the nomination of a Labour Party candidate to November 6, 2026, following a disagreement over the service of court documents.

The case was filed by Olanrewaju Adeleke, popularly known as Legacy, who claims to be the legally nominated Labour Party candidate for Lagos State.

Adeleke instituted the suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Labour Party, Olurotomi Odunaike and Lateef Adele.

At the centre of the dispute is the question of whether the Labour Party validly nominated the candidate whose name it submitted for the election. Adeleke is challenging the nomination on the grounds that the candidate allegedly did not participate in the party’s primary election.

During proceedings, Adeleke’s lawyer, Barrister Tomi Olagunju, told the court that the case was ready for hearing but argued that his client had not been properly served with court processes by some of the defendants.

Counsel to one of the defendants, Barrister Okoro, disagreed, saying the documents had been served electronically and were accessible through the court’s electronic filing portal. He maintained that the parties were ready to proceed with the case.

Olagunju, however, argued that filing documents electronically was not the same as formally serving them. He said his client had received a response from INEC but had yet to be served with the relevant processes from the third and fourth defendants.

He also explained that the applicable court rules required proper service before the process of responding to the documents could begin.

Justice Akintayo Aluko noted that the court’s practice directions contained specific provisions on service. The judge stressed that electronic filing did not remove the requirement to ensure that court documents were duly served on the parties.

The court consequently directed the lawyers to comply with the service requirements.

After the exchange, Adeleke’s counsel requested a short adjournment to enable him to file and serve a reply to the relevant documents.

Justice Aluko then fixed November 6, 2026, for hearing.

The case could have implications for the Labour Party’s candidate-selection process in Lagos State, as the court is expected to consider the legal questions raised over the nomination. However, no final determination has been made on the validity of the disputed candidacy.