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An Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has compelled President Muhammadu Buhari to react within a period of five days to the appeal filed against his qualification for the February 23 presidential election.
Joined in the order are the ruling APC which presented Buhari for the controversial election as well as the electoral body, INEC, for accepting his nomination.
The presiding judge, Justice Datti Yayaya directed that Buhari's counsel, Abdullahi Abubakar, must within the period file proportionate processes in relation to the appeal filed against the president’s qualification by the trio of Agu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy El-Kuris.
The latest court order follows a motion on notice brought by Uchenna Ndubuisi, the counsel to the appellants, who beseeched the Appeal Court to lessen the time within which Mr. President, the ruling APC and INEC will join issues with the appellants on the certifcate suit.
Mr. Temitayo Lasaki, Mr. President's counsel and that of the APC, had urged the appellate court in their response to the motion to give them five days to enable them file their respondents’ brief of argument along with other processes so as to set the stage for hearing of the substantive appeal.
The three appelants recently approached the court to quash a previous Judgment of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court which declined to hear their suit challenging the educational qualification of the President ahead of the conduct of the 2019 general election saying the processes filed by Mr. President and used to strike out their suit were not competent.
While faulting the Judgment of the High Court, which was predicated on the grounds that the suit was statute barred, the appellants claimed that the Federal High Court erred in law and in its decison because they did not challenge the primary election that produced Buhari as candidate of the APC instead they challenged his educational qualification to participate in the polls.
They therefore urged the Court of Appeal to assume jurisdiction over the suit and grant all the reliefs sought at the Federal High Court but which were refused.
Among the reliefs were a declaration that Buhari submitted false information regarding his qualification and certifcate to INEC for the purpose of contesting election into the office of the President of Nigeria and that he should be disqualified.
They also prayed for an order of court directing INEC to remove Buhari’s name as a candidate of APC and another order restraining Buhari from parading himself as a candidate in the 2019 presidential election and also APC from recognizing Buhari as a candidate.
The Federal High Court had on May 2 declined to grant the request of the appellants on the grounds that the suit was not filed within the time allowed by law and therefore sustained the preliminary objection raised by the president at the hearing.
Hearing in the appeal has been billed for July 8.
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