Two weeks to the rescheduled presidential election in Nigeria, supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan are still pursuing legal options to stop his rival, the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.
The latest legal action has been taken by a former senator of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Alphonsus Ubanesse Igbeke, who once represented Anambra North Senatorial District.
Igbeke and his party, APGA have gone to the Federal High Court Awka, Anambra State to stop Buhari from contesting the forthcoming election on grounds of breaches of relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2010. Similar actions have been filed in Abuja. Igbeke’s party, APGA has adopted Jonathan as its candidate in the 28 March election.
In a Motion Exparte dated March 11, 2015, the plaintiffs through their lawyer, C. N. Nsobundu, and Emeka Nri-Ezedi Esq sought relief of the court headed by Justice M. I Abubakar, to serve General Buhari and INEC the originating summons and other processes in the suit.
APGA and Senator Igbeke are praying the court to halt the presidential ambition of General Buhari because in the form he submitted to INEC seeking to contest the 2015 Presidential Election, Buhari had indicated his interest to contest as the flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress Party (APCP) which the plaintiffs contend is
not an existing political party in Nigeria today. The plaintiffs contend that the only party that bears a semblance of the platform that Buhari cited as the party he is standing election in is the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They are also praying the court to determine whether General Buhari who failed to show the proof that he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth in his INEC Form CF001 is qualified to vie for the office of president of Nigeria. The contention here is that in failing to attach his birth certificate to his INEC Form, Buhari had left a huge gap in his profile that makes people wonder whether he is truly a Nigerian.
The Plaintiffs also contend that General Buhari failed to attach any evidence of his purported educational qualifications to his INEC Form and consequently fell below the minimum standards for candidates standing election for the office of president.
APGA and Senator Igbeke are also praying the court to determine whether Buhari who “falsely” claimed in his Voter’s Card submitted alongside the INEC Form that he was public servant as at January 22nd 2011 should not be disqualified from contesting the coming presidential election.
They further averred that the APC presidential candidate who deposed an affidavit at an Abuja High Court in November 2014 claiming that “All my academic qualifications documents as filled in my Presidential Form, President APC/100/2015 are currently with the Secretary Military Board as at the time of this affidavit,” ought to be disqualified from contesting the said election for lying on oath.
After hearing the Motion Exparte by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Justice Abubakar granted them leave to serve General Buhari with the originating summons and other processes in the suit, out of the jurisdiction of the court i.e be outside Anambra State and in Kaduna State. General Buhari will be served the processes at 4A & B Sultan
Lane, Off Sultan Road, Kaduna while INEC will be served at INEC Office, House of Assembly Road, Awka.
The court has scheduled March 23, this year as return date for hearing
the Exparte Motion.
*Originally reported by http://247ureports.com/
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