A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by three applicants, seeking to stop the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, on May 29.
The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, in a ruling on Friday, May 26, said the applicants, who were neither candidates nor members of a political party in the election that produced Tinubu as the President-elect, lacked locus standi (legal right) to institute the matter.
Justice Omotosho further held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter being a post-election matter which ought to have been filed at the Appeal Court.
The three applicants – Praise Ilemona Isaiah, Pastor Paul Isaac Audu, and Dr Anongu Moses – had filed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/657/2023.
In the suit, they sued President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the Director-General Department of State Services (DSS).
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Others are the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 7th defendants respectively.
In the motion dated May 18 and filed May 22, the applicants sought an order of interim injunction restraining the 2nd defendant (Tinubu) from being sworn in as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
In a 10-ground of argument attached to the motion, the applicants said that the APC candidate contested the last presidential election and was declared to have won the poll by INEC (7th defendant).
They said though Tinubu was billed to be sworn in as president on May, 29, they had uncovered that the President-elect, contrary to the affidavit he deposed to in INEC’s Form EC9, besides being a Nigerian, he was also a citizen of Guinea Republic, thereby committing the offence of perjury, among others
The matter was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.
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