Court urged to bar Jonathan from contesting next presidential election
From Ogundele Olanrewaju
A group, the Rights for All International (RAI), has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to bar ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from participating as a candidate in the next presidential election.
Plaintiff also wants the court to restrain the APC from fielding Jonathan as its candidate and to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting him as the candidate of the APC for the election.
Suit FHC/ABJ/CS: 662/2022 was filed yesterday by the incorporated trustees of the RAI through their lawyer, Okere Nnamdi.
Listed as defendants alongside Jonathan are APC and INEC.
The plaintiff is contending that having taken the oath of office of the President for two times, Jonathan was no longer qualified, under the constitution, to stand for election as president.
RAI stated in a supporting affidavit that the 1st defendant (Jonathan) has been twice elected to the office of the President and held the office on two previous occasions.
It said: “Despite having held the office of the President of Nigeria on two previous occasions, the 1st defendant has obtained the presidential nomination form of the 2nd defendant (the APC) to contest the 2023 presidential election as the candidate of the 2nd defendant.
“The Constitution of Nigeria provides for both qualification and disqualification to contest the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The 1st defendant, having been elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2011 and having been sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from May 29, 2011 to May 29, 2015, served his second terms as President of Nigeria.
“The 1st defendant has fulfilled constitutional provisions, having been elected and sworn into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on two previous elections as envisaged in section 137 (1) (b) of the Constitution.
“The 1st defendant is constitutionally not qualified to contest any presidential election in Nigeria, having been elected, sworn in and held the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on two previous occasions.”
The plaintiff wants the court to declare that having regard to the clear, unambiguous and express provisions, spirit and tenor of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Fourth Alteration Act no 16), which provided a new subsection (3) to section 137 of the Constitution, the 1st defendant is not qualified to contest any presidential election in Nigeria.
It wants an order perpetually restraining, prohibiting and barring the 2nd defendant (the APC) from nominating Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2023 Presidential election on the grounds that the 1st defendant is constitutionally not qualified to contest any presidential election in Nigeria, having been elected, sworn in and held the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on two previous occasions.
The plaintiff equally wants the court to issue an order perpetually restraining, prohibiting and barring the 3rd defendant (INEC) from accepting the nomination of the 1st defendant as the presidential candidate of the 2nd defendant for the 2023 presidential election on the ground that Jonathan is constitutionally not qualified to contest any presidential election in Nigeria, having been elected, sworn-in and held the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on two previous occasions.
