Court issues verdict requesting cancellation of polls for 2023

A federal high court in Abuja will rule on Monday (today) on an application to halt the upcoming presidential election scheduled for February 25.

The court will also decide whether to dismiss the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for alleged illegalities in the 2019 presidential election.

The verdict to be handed down by Judge Inyang Ekwo is based on a lawsuit filed by the 2019 presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, Chief Ambrose Owuru.

Owuru had taken legal action against Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission, asking the court to declare him the winner of the election.

A message for the verdict observed by journalists from the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja on Friday indicated that the verdict would be pronounced by Judge Ekwo at 9am.

The notice was served on the Federation’s Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami (SAN).

The PUNCH reported that the Rivers state-born presidential candidate had asked the court to declare him the winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Among other things, he had asked the court to determine the legality of INEC’s decision in 2019, postponing the election from February 16 to March 23.

He claimed that INEC violated the constitution by postponing the election and that Buhari’s declaration as the winner of the unlawful act should be declared null and void and of no effect.

The basis of his claim was based on the fact that the petition he filed against Buhari had not been reviewed by the Supreme Court as required by law.

The politician claimed that his petition to the Supreme Court was unfairly rejected after his absence from the Apex Court due to discrepancies in the hearings he was told.

He therefore prayed in court to remove Buhari and declare him (Owuru) the authentic president, and that Buhari would be forced to pay back all the money he had collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.

The HDP presidential candidate also asked the court to order his inauguration for a four-year term after Buhari’s removal from office and that the Federal Supreme Court should stop INEC from holding the upcoming presidential election.

While claiming that his tenure had been taken over by Buhari, the plaintiff prayed that the court would compel Buhari to repay all the money he collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.

On November 4 last year, Judge Ekwo set January 30 as the date of the verdict, following the approval of final speeches by Buhari, the AGF, INEC and the plaintiff.

In an interview with The PUNCH, a constitutional attorney, Dr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), in an interview with The PUNCH: “Even if Owuru wins, the verdict will be mere pyrrh as Buhari is already on his way on May 29. by the flow of time. It has become a purely academic exercise.”

Another SAN, Kunle Adegoke, said: “It is doubtful whether the matter is a pre-election issue governed by Article 285 of the constitution and it is certain that it is not an election request.

“If the case also does not qualify as a pre-election issue, the Federal Supreme Court has no duty to decide within 180 days. If it is claimed to be an election petition, the Federal Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to rule on an election petition within 180 days.”