Apart from the challenge of a shift in the general elections, the two major contenders in the presidential election in Nigeria now have a major battle they are fighting to remain in the race.
Supporters of the duo are in court seeking disqualification against one another.
In the case of General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who currently has five suits against him in different courts, the major issue against him has to do with his certificate just as Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is having to argue why he would swear an oath of office as the President of the country three times instead of the two times stipulated in the constitution.
On Monday, Buhari and the APC under which he contesting for the presidency opposed an order of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, which had granted ex parte orders that the presidential candidate and his party be served through substituted means like newspapers with a given time for the defendants to respond.
The judge granted this order in the two suits pending before him and brought by Chukwunweike Okafor and Max Ozoaka against Buhari’s eligibility. The two plaintiffs joined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants in the suits.
Kicking against this, counsels to Buhari and the APC, Wole Olanipekun and Lateef Fagbemi, told the court they were filing applications to challenge the competence of the suits as well as the way the suits had been so far handled by the court.
They therefore asked the court to adjourn so as to afford them the opportunity to file their applications while urging the court to set aside the abridged time for the defendants to respond since the elections would now be holding on 14th February and 28th March.
The judge subsequently adjourned the suits to 23rd February.
Ozoaka is seeking ” a declaration that by the combined provisions of Sections 31(1) (2) and (3) of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended and INEC Form CF 001, the 1st defendant is mandatorily obliged by the law to comply strictly with the provisions laid down under the Electoral Act as amended and INEC Form CF 001 as it relates to attaching evidence of the 1st defendants birth certificate and evidence of his educational qualifications as required under INEC Form CF 001.
“A declaration that by the combined reading of Sections 31(1)(2) (3) and 31 (8) of the Electoral Act, the 1st and 2nd defendants are mandatorily obliged by law to comply strictly with the provisions laid down under the Electoral Act vis-a-vis the filing and submission of INEC Form CF 001, by the 1st defendant attaching evidence of educational qualifications as required under the said INEC Form CF 001 and that noncompliance with this condition inherent amounts to an offence under Section 31(8) of the Electoral Act.
“A declaration that the curriculum vitae and voters registration card attached by the 1st defendant in his INEC Form CF 001 and submitted to the 2nd defendant as a presidential candidate in 2015 general election is not in conformity with the form prescribed by the Electoral Act/INEC Form CF 001 and is manifestly in contravention of the said Act/INEC Form CF 001 and therefore null and void.
“An order declaring as invalid the INEC Form CF 001 as filled by the 1st defendant as being inchoate and manifestly in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act/INEC Form 001 as the 1st defendant did not comply with a condition inherent/precedent in the INEC Form CF 001 submitted to the 2nd defendant, by failing and/or refusing to attach evidence of his birth certificate and educational qualifications which are conditions inherent/precedent as prescribed in the form.
“A declaration that the 1st defendant is not eligible to participate in the 2015 Presidential election for failure to comply with the terms for submission of list of candidate and affidavit of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office of the president;
-A declaration that the sworn affidavit by the 1st defendant stating that his original certificates are presently with the Secretary Military Board cannot replace and/or satisfy the provision under INEC Form CF 001 requiring him to attach evidence of his educational qualification as such requirement is a condition inherent and a condition precedent to his eligibility to contest/participate in the 2015 presidential election.
“An order disqualifying the 1st defendant from contesting and/or participating in the presidential election fixed for the 14th February, 2015 or any other date that the 2nd defendant may fix.
An order restraining the 2nd defendant from permitting the 1st defendant from participating in the presidential election fixed for 14th February, 2015 or any other date that the 2nd defendant may fix.”
Ozoaka argued that having regards to the clear, unequivocal and sacrosanct provisions of Section 31(1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Electoral Act, Cap 15 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010 and INEC Form CF 001 which stipulates the conditions to be complied with in the submission of list of candidates and their affidavits to INEC, he wanted the court to determine whether the 1st defendant herein has complied with the said law and INEC Form CF 001, when he failed to attach evidence of his educational qualifications to the INEC Form CF 001 submitted to the 2nd defendant for the purpose of the 2015 presidential election.
“Whether the curriculum vitae of the 1st defendant as attached by the 1st defendant alongside the affidavit sworn by the 1st defendant and attached in the INEC Form CF 001 to the 2nd defendant suffices and/or replaces evidence of the 1st defendant’s educational qualifications as required by INEC Form CF 001 and is in accordance with the prescribed form as stipulated by Sections 31 (1) of the Electoral Act, Cap 15 LFN, 2010.
While this was happening, another court sitting in Abuja and headed by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, ordered that court documents seeking to disqualify Jonathan from contesting the presidential election be served on him either through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation or the Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation since the plaintiff said the documents could not be served directly on the President since Aso Rock, where he lives, is heavily fortified.
The fresh suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/1112/2015 and instituted by Nkemjika Nkemjika, wants Jonathan to be disqualified from contesting in the March 28 elections. It also has INEC and the PDP as defendants.
This suit makes it the third which Jonathan is tackling as another suit had earlier been filed at the same court seeking his disqualification while another one is currently at the Court of Appeal.
The plaintiff is asking the court, among other prayers, to determine whether, having regard to the provisions of sections 135(1) (b) and 135(2) (b) of the Constitution, the president was qualified to contest the presidential election.
In the suit that was adjourned to February 26, the plaintiff argued that Jonathan’s second term in office would end on May 29, because Section 135(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution (amended) does not envisage that the Vice President should complete the unexpired tenure of office of a deceased President.
