PRESIDENT JONATHAN GETS JUDICIAL IMPETUS!

The Federal High Court in
Kaduna on Monday struck out a
suit challenging the eligibility of
President Goodluck Jonathan to
contest the 2015 general election.

The suit, instituted by Shuaibu
Lili and one other, had sought a
declaration barring the president
from contesting the 2015
presidential election.

Counsel to the plaintiffs,
Mohammed Ibrahim, had argued
that Jonathan haven been sworn
twice into office as president has
no constitutional right to contest
for the post again.

He cited Sections 145, 142 and
146 of the Constitution which
limits the tenure of the president
and governors to a maximum of
eight years.

The plaintiffs had also sought for
an order to restrain the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), joined as
defendant, from fielding
Jonathan as its presidential
candidate in 2015.

In her ruling Justice Evlyn Enya-
Dike, said the plaintiffs had
failed to convince the court in all
the prayers they sought, and
struck out the case.

She said that Jonathan was yet to
obtain or declared formally his
intention to contest, adding that
the suit was “at best hypothetical,
preemptive, speculative and
mere conjunctures’’.

Enya-Dike also said that Section
308 of the Constitution insulated
the President from civil and
criminal actions until he vacates
office, adding that the plaintiffs
also lacked locus-standi to
institute the case.

“The plaintiffs,’’ she said, “had
failed to show that they would
suffer any special damage more
than any member of the public if
the president contests in 2015.’’

The judge, however, did not
make any declaration on whether
the suit was an abuse of court
process.

Enya-Dike, however, dismissed
the case without any cost.

Reacting to the judgement,
counsels to Jonathan and PDP, Mr
Nnamdi Ekwem, expressed
satisfaction with the court’s
decision.

On his part, Ibrahim said they
would appeal the ruling,
contending that there were many
flaws in the judgment.