Atiku’s Citizenship: Stop harassing politically exposed persons, court warns CSOs
Atiku Abubakar
A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, struck out a suit challenging the Nigerian citizenship of a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, reports Punch.
Justice Inyang Ekwo struck out the suit filed by the incorporated trustees of the Egalitarian Mission for Africa challenging the Nigerian citizenship of the former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate.
The court held that the civil rights organisation, which has a legal practitioner, Kayode Ajulo, as its Executive Director, had no legal right in the first instance to query the citizenship of a former vice-president.
According to Justice Ekwo, having been registered under the Company and Allied Matters Act with special functions, the CSO could not jump into public interest litigation that was not part of its objectives.
He cautioned CSOs to refrain from filing frivolous applications targeted at harassing politically exposed Nigerians.
Justice Ekwo held that the incorporated trustees lacked the locus standi to institute the legal action, describing them as “busy body and meddlesome interlopers”.
The incorporated trustees of EMA had asked the court to disqualify Atiku as the presidential candidate of the PDP and restrain him from contesting the February 16, 2019 presidential election over the circumstances surrounding his citizenship.
The suit, which was filed on February 11, 2019, had Atiku, the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as well as the Attorney-General of Adamawa State as defendants.
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Specifically, the plaintiff had approached the court for an interpretation of sections 25(1) & (2) and 131(a) of the 1999 Constitution.
The plaintiff prayed for “a declaration that by the combined interpretation of sections 25(l) & (2) and 131(a) of the Constitution and given the circumstances surrounding Atiku’s birth, he cannot be cleared by the PDP and INEC to contest the post of President.”