Court Adjourns Case Seeking To Nullify Buhari’s 2019 Victory, Declare Atiku As President

A Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned a case seeking the nullification of President Muhammadu Buhari‘s victory in 2019, and the declaration of Atiku Abubakar as president.

Group Seeks To Replace Buhari With Atiku As President

The Incorporated Trustees of the Civil Society Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance had filed an appeal seeking the sacking of Buhari as president till May 18, 2022, for alleged false affidavit in the 2019 general elections.

The civil society group, subsequently, asked the court to declare as president the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who came second in the 2019 Presidential election.

When the case resumed on Wednesday, February 9, two lawyers — Oluwole Afolabi and F. O. Amedu — appeared for both the All Progressives Congress and Buhari.

The lawyers claimed to be briefed and genuine legal representatives.

Following the confusion, the three-member panel presided by Justice Haruna Tsamani adjourned the appeal to May 18 to enable the parties to reconcile the issue of representation.

APC and Buhari had asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to dismiss the appeal seeking to nullify his election and swear in Atiku as president.

The APC and Buhari’s submission was contained in their Respondents’ Brief of Argument filed on January 31, 2022, challenging the appeal by the CSO.

The CSO, through its counsel, Nnamdi Ahaiwe, filed the Appellant’s Brief, claimed “that all his (Buhari) academic qualification documents as filled in his Presidential Form, President APC/001/2015 are currently with the Secretary, Military Board as at the time of the affidavit is false.”

The CSO also said, “There was no any organ, institution, agency, department or authority known as and called the ‘Military Board’ existing in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as at the 24th day of November 2014, when the 3rd defendant, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR deposed to an affidavit sworn to at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.”

It also asked the appellate court to grant a consequential order nullifying the election, withdrawing the certificate of return to office of the president, and direct “the 1st defendant/respondent (INEC) to issue a new certificate of return in respect of the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), being the candidate who came second in the 2019 general elections to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

In their response, APC and Buhari stated that the Supreme Court had resolved the subject matter of the appeal in Abubakar Atiku and Another vs INEC and others, asking the appellate court to stand by the earlier decision of the apex court.

KanyiDaily recalls that in 2019, the Supreme Court had thrown out the appeals filed by Atiku and PDP challenging the victory of President Buhari, whose tenure would end next year 2023.