Parties to the case were served the Supreme Court’s
hearing notice for today’s proceedings.
The Supreme Court will today (Monday) hear an appeal seeking the
disqualification of President Muhammadu Buhari as a candidate in the
last presidential election.
Punch reports that parties to the case were served the Supreme Court’s
hearing notice for today’s proceedings.
The case, which was earlier dismissed by a court of appeal in Abuja,
was anchored on the allegation that Buhari submitted false information
regarding his academic qualification and certificate to the
Independent National Electoral Commission as a candidate in the
February 23, 2019 poll.
Three Nigerians – Kalu Kalu Agu, Labaran Ismail, Hassy Jyari El-Kunis
– filed the appeal, anchored on 12 grounds, before the Supreme Court
to challenge the July 12, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeal.
The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku
Abubakar, raised a similar issue in their petition before the
presidential election petitions tribunal.
The three appellants had, on their part, commenced their case before
the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2018, alleging that Buhari falsely
claimed to possess a school certificate he never had.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed of a federal high court in Abuja, in his
judgment delivered on May 2, 2019, struck out the suit for being
statute-barred.
A three-man panel of the court of appeal led by Justice Tinuade
Akomolafe-Wilson, in a unanimous judgment delivered on July 12, 2019,
affirmed the federal high court’s verdict, dismissing the suit on the
grounds that it was statute-barred and the court robbed of
jurisdiction to hear it on merit.
Delivering the lead judgment of the court, Justice Mohammed Idris held
that the matter had become statute-barred having not been filed within
the 14 days period which the cause of action arose, as stipulated
under Section 285(9) of the Nigerian Constitution.
The appellants, through their counsel, Ukpai Ukairo, on July 24, 2019,
are urging the apex court to set aside the verdicts of the federal
high court and the court of appeal.