Court To Hear Suit Querying Atiku’s Citizenship July 20

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has fixed July 20 to hear the fresh suit that is challenging the eligibility of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to contest the 2023 presidential election.

The court, while fixing the date in a ruling ordered substituted service of all the legal processes on Atiku to enable him to respond to the suit.

It directed that the former VP, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, should be served within seven days, through publication of the court processes in a national daily up.

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will be recalled that a constitutional lawyer, Mr. Johnmary Jideobi had approached the court, contending that Atiku is not constitutionally qualified to participate in the presidential contest.

The Plaintiff, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/751/2022, raised two legal questions for the court to determine, afterwhich he sought seven principal reliefs against Atiku, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who were cited as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter.

The Attorney-General of the Federation was also joined as the 4th defendant.

Specifically, the plaintiff, asked the court to determine; “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 plaintiff also wants the court to determine, “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?”.