The Abuja division of the Court
of Appeal, Monday reserved judgment in the appeal filed against President
Muhammadu Buhari’s academic qualification for the 2019 presidential election.
The three-member panel of the
appellate court presided over by Justice Atinuke Akomolafe-Wilson, reserved
judgment after listening to the argument canvassed by counsel to parties in the
suit.
At the proceedings, counsel to
the appellant, Ukpai Ukairo, insisted that President Buhari was not
educationally qualified to have stood for the presidential poll on the grounds
that the required certificates were not attached to his form CF001, submitted
to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for clearance to
contest the presidential poll.
The counsel denied the claim that
the suit of the appellant was statute barred, adding that the case was
instituted on November 5, 2018 within the 14 days allowed by law. He said the
cause of action started with the announcement and publication by INEC of
successful candidates for the 2019 general election on October 25, 2018.
Ukairo, therefore, urged the
Court of Appeal to allow the appeal and set aside the decision of the Federal
High Court on grounds of miscarriage of justice.
He asked the court to nullify
Buhari’s participation in the February 23 presidential election because he was
not educationally qualified for the poll at the time he did.
However, lawyers to the 1st and
2nd respondents urged the court to dismiss the appeal for being incompetent and
lacking in merit.
Buhari’s counsel, Abdullahi
Abubakar, specifically told the Appeal Court that the case of the appellant was
statute barred having not been filed within the mandatory period stipulated by
the law.
He urged the court to uphold the
decision of the Federal High Court to the effect that the suit was not filed in
line with the position of the law.
Counsel to the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Babatunde Ogala, argued on the line with Buhari and urged the
court to dismiss the appeal, while counsel to INEC, Onyeri Anthony, said the
commission is neutral and would abide by the decision of the Court.
Kalu, Ismail and El-Kuris had
approached the appellate court to nullify and set aside the judgment of the
Abuja division of the Federal High Court which declined to hear their suit
instituted to challenge the educational qualification of President Buhari
before the conduct of the 2019 general election.
The appellants in their appeal
are asking the appellate court to reverse the judgment of Justice Ahmed
Mohammed on the grounds that the processes filed by Buhari and used to strike
out their suit were not competent.
While faulting the judgment of
the lower court, which was predicated on the grounds that the suit was statute
barred, the appellants claimed that the Federal High Court erred in law and in
its decision because they did not challenge the primary election that produced
Buhari as candidate of the APC.
They, therefore, urged the Court
of Appeal to assume jurisdiction over the suit and grant all the reliefs sought
at the Federal High Court but which were refused.
Among the reliefs were a
declaration that Buhari submitted false information regarding his qualification
and certificate to INEC for the purpose of contesting election into the office
of the President of Nigeria and that he should be disqualified.
They also prayed for an order of
the court directing INEC to remove Buhari’s name as a candidate of APC and
another order restraining Buhari from parading himself as a candidate in the
2019 presidential election and also APC from recognizing Buhari as a candidate.
The Federal High Court had on May
2 declined to grant the request of the appellants on the grounds that the suit
was not filed within the time allowed by law and therefore sustained the
preliminary objection raised by Buhari at the hearing.
But not satisfied, the appellants
are now asking the Court of Appeal to grant their reliefs because they are not
challenging the primary election of APC as erroneously held by the lower court
but the qualification of Buhari to stand for the presidential election without
demonstrating his educational certificates as required by law.
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