The citizenship of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his eligibility to contest the 2023 presidential election have been challenged in court, just three days after he won the Presidential primary of the People’s Democratic Party.
These are the subject matter of a case brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday by a constitutional lawyer, Mr. Johnmary Jideobi, to determine.
Mr. Jideobi in the suit with file number FHC/ABJ/CS/751/2022, declared that Atiku, a former Vice President of Nigeria, is not constitutionally qualified to participate in the presidential poll.
The plaintiff is asking two questions for the Court to determine. The first is:
“Whether by the combined provisions of sections 1(1) & (2), 25 and 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), only a Nigeria citizen by birth can contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?”.
The second question is: “Whether by the combined interpretation of sections 1(1) & (2), 25(1) & (2) and 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and giving the circumstances surrounding the birth of the 1st Defendant, he can be cleared by the 2nd and 3rd Defendants to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?”.
He also sought for seven principal reliefs against Atiku, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. These are joined in the suit as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter.
The fourth defendant in the case is the Attorney-General of the Federation.
A similar case had been raised against the citizenship of Alhaji Atiku, in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.
