By Uche Mbah
A Federal High Court in Abuja, Friday, struck out a suit filed by a group, Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, which sought to disqualify Bola Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, from the 2023 General Elections.
In an originating motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1960/22, sought an order directing INEC to act in accordance with Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2022, to remove Tinubu’s name from the final list of presidential candidates contesting the 2023 Presidential election.
The Human rights group had joined, in the suit, the INEC Chairman, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ts Presidential Candidate, Tinubu as first, second and third respondents respectively.
They claimed Tinubu violated Section 91(3) of Electoral Act 2022 which says that a political party shall not receive any contribution of cash or kind over, and above N50 million, without providing the source of the contribution to INEC, among others.
Tinubu’s Lawyer had described the plaintiff as a “meddlesome Interloper” and urged the Court to throw out the case.
Justice Binta Nyako, in her ruling, said that the plaintiff lacked locus standi to institute the case, because they are neither a political party nor a member of one.
Describing the ruling as an abuse of Court process, she said:
“The issue of locus standi of the applicant is a threshold issue because anything conduct without locus will be a nullity and it will be set aside. ”
She found it distasteful that the plaintiff filed several cases with similar contents.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of he Federal High Court had, December 15, 2022, thrown away a similar case, though the parties involved were different.
“Consequently, the case is hereby dismissed for being an abuse of court process,” she ruled.
