A suit has been filed against the academic qualification of President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 presidential election by three Nigerians at the Supreme Court.
According to Premium Times, the apex court was approached by the applicants – Kalu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy Kyari el-Kuris – to nullify Buhari’s candidacy on academic grounds.
The recent filing follows a dismissal of the suit at the Court of Appeal on grounds that it could not be heard because it was statute-barred.
According to the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris on July 12, the singular fact that the suit was filed outside the 14 days provided by the law robbed the court of jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Idris subsequently dismissed the suit for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
The applicants claim that the president lied in his form 001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the purpose of clearance for the poll, and want his nomination and subsequent victory at the polls to be nullified.
They are now seeking for the appellate court’s judgment to be set aside by the apex court and for the suit to be heard on merit.
The applicants also want the reliefs sought in the originating summons to be granted by the Supreme Court.
