The plaintiffs, who are Prof. Tunde
Samuel, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, Mr. Razak Adeosun and Yahaya Ezemoo, are
pleading with the court to restrain Dr. Jonathan from contesting,
putting himself forward and or accepting to contest for the office of
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria at the 2015 presidential
election.
The only defendant in the matter, which is already assigned to Court 7, is the President.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application, which was filed by a team of crack lawyers mostly Senior Advocates.
The counsel in the matter are Yusuf Ali
(SAN), A. B. Mahmoud(SAN), Adebayo Adelodun(SAN), Sirajo Chedi (SAN),
Dr. Tunji Abayomi, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, K.K. Eleja and A.O. Usman.
Six more Senior Advocates will join the
team whenever the legal fireworks begin because the plaintiffs have
asked for two SANs from each of the six geopolitical zones.
Relying on Sections 135 to 146 of the
1999 Constitution, the plaintiffs averred that Jonathan cannot take the
oath of office more than twice as president.
They also said under the constitution, any President of Nigeria cannot be in office beyond eight years of two terms.
They said if Jonathan is allowed to
contest and is sworn in as president, he would be spending 10 years in
office contrary to the spirit and intendment of the 1999 Constitution.
They urged the court to determine three issues and sought for six reliefs in the originating summons.
The plaintiffs’ prayers are as follows:
*whether having regards to the
intendment and general scheme of the Constitution, especially the
provisions of sections 1 (1) &(2), 135 (1)& (2), 137(1)(b), 140
(1) &(2),142 (1)&(2) and 146(1)(3)(b)(c) thereof, it is
constitutional, lawful, legal and permissible for a person to occupy the
office of the president for a cumulative and or aggregate period of
more than eight years;
•whether having regards to the
intendment and the general scheme of the Constitution, especially the
provisions of Sections 1(1) & (2) and 135(1) thereof, the defendant
is eligible to seek re-election or contest for the office of the
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for another term of four
years, which will bring his cumulative and or aggregate period in office
as president beyond the eight years maximum period allowable by the
Constitution;
•whether having regards to the
intendment and the general scheme of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) especially section 1(1) & (2),
135 (1)&(2), 137 (1)(b), 140 (1) & (2), 142(1)& (2) and
146(1) (3) (b)& (c) thereof, the period the defendant served as
President from May 6, 2010 to May 28, 2011, ought not to be reckoned
with and taken into cognisance in computing the total period he has
spent and could spend in office as President of Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
The plaintiffs asked for these reliefs.
•a declaration that having regards to
the provisions of the Constitution, it is unconstitutional, unlawful,
illegal and not permissible for any person to occupy the office of the
President for more than a cumulative and or aggregate period of eight
years when the country is not at war and it is practicable to hold
election into the office of President;
•a declaration that having regards to
the Provisions of the Constitution, the defendant, is not eligible to
seek re-election into the office of President for another term of four
years from 2015, as that would have permitted him to occupy the office
of President, for more than the eight years maximum period allowable by
the Constitution for anyone to occupy the office of the President;
•a declaration that in computing the
period already spent in office as President by the defendant, the period
from May 6, 2010 to May 28, 2011 should / ought to be reckoned with.
•a declaration that having spent a
period of more than four years in office as President reckoned from May
6, 2010, the defendant is without competence, eligibility, authority or
entitlement to contest for the same office for another term of four
years;
•an order of injunction restraining the
defendant from contesting, putting himself forward and or accepting to
contest for the office of President at the 2015 presidential election;
•and, for such further or other
relief(s) to which the plaintiffs may be found entitled by the
Honourable Court in consequence of the relief(s) earlier adumbrated on
the Originating Summons.
A member of the legal team, who spoke in
confidence, explained why the latest suit is different from others
before on the eligibility of Jonathan.
The source said: “The suit is
challenging the eligibility of Mr. President to spend beyond eight years
in office in the light of constitutional provision that forbids any
person to stay in office beyond eight years.
“And also there is a court decision in
an election petition case on Adamawa State, where it was held that no
circumstances should warrant anyone to hold an elective office beyond
eight years.
“In Marwa and 1 other v. Admiral Murtala
Nyako and others (SC 141/2011), the court held that ‘the constitution
has no room for a cumulative tenure exceeding eight years.’
“This suit is different from the
previous ones challenging Mr. President because he had neither declared
his intention nor was he confirmed as a presidential candidate for 2015
polls.
“Thus, the previous suits were
speculative. This suit is hinged on the fact that having spent six years
in office, the president is seeking another term of four years. Yet the
constitution says a President can hold office for two terms of eight
years.”
Source: TheNation
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