A federal high court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tinubu from the south-west and Kashim Shettima, his running mate from the north-east, are both Muslims, and the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC has elicited different reactions from Nigerians.
Groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have also condemned it.
Osigwe Momoh, an Abuja-based lawyer, had instituted a suit seeking to disqualify the APC from participating in the election.
He predicated his suit on grounds that the nomination of the Muslim-Muslim candidacy was unconstitutional and against the spirit and letters of sections 14, 15, and 224 of the 1999 constitution.
Specifically, the lawyer, who claimed to be an “apostle” of the rule of law and social justice argued that Muslim-Muslim candidacy ran counter to the spirit of national cohesion, integration, and unity.
He asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from publishing the name of APC and its presidential candidate for the purpose of the 2023 election.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Ahmed Mohammed, the presiding judge, struck out the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to file it.
Mohammed held that the lawyer, not being a member of APC and having not participated in the process that produced Tinubu and his running mate, could not query their nominations.
“Having perused the originating summons of the suit, I am unable to see where the plaintiff was an aspirant in the election,” the judge said.
“I hold that he lacks the locus standi to institute the matter. Having found that the plaintiff lacks the locus standi, the court has no jurisdiction to proceed with the matter and the proceedings will terminate at this point.
“This matter is hereby struck out for want of jurisdiction.”
