Nigeria Court Boots Leading Presidential Hopeful Off Ballot Two Months Out

A Nigerian court has kicked a leading presidential candidate out of the race, France 24 reports, jolting the electoral process just two months before the country votes. The disqualification reshapes a contest that had been building toward a showdown. Who benefits, who scrambles, and whether the decision survives appeal are now the questions driving Nigerian politics.

The ruling adds a fresh layer of complication to an election cycle already under strain. Courts have become a recurring battleground in Nigerian presidential politics, with ballot access and candidate eligibility repeatedly landing in judges' hands. This time the call came down with the campaign calendar already tight.

The report did not name the candidate in France 24's broadcast. The network flagged the disqualification as one of the night's top international stories, framing it as a destabilizing twist for the electoral process rather than a settled outcome.

Expect appeals. Disqualification rulings in Nigeria have a habit of being challenged, and the clock is running short for any legal fight to play out before voters line up. Campaigns on both sides will now recalibrate strategies built around a field that just changed.

Elsewhere, France 24 reported that tens of thousands of people have fled southern Ethiopia into neighboring Kenya as deadly ethnic clashes intensify. And members of the first Refugee Youth Olympic Team, many of them displaced by conflict and violence, are chasing medals at Dakar 2026.