Supreme Court To Hear Perjury Suit Against Buhari Monday – TheNigerialawyer

The Supreme Court will today commence hearing in the suit
seeking the disqualification of President Muhammadu Buhari in the
2019 presidential poll over an alleged act of perjury.

The suit filed by a legal practitioner and two others, Thisday
learnt is one of the appeals slated for Monday, September 2, 2019,
by the apex court.

The appellants, Kalu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy El-Kuris had
approached the Supreme Court to nullify the candidacy of President
Buhari in the just concluded presidential poll over allegations of
perjury.

The move to ventilate their grievances at the apex court was
occasioned by the dismissal of their suit at the Court of Appeal in
Abuja, on grounds that it was statute-barred and as such cannot be
heard.

The appellants specifically want Buhari’s nomination and
subsequent victory at the February 23 presidential election
nullified on the grounds that President Buhari lied on oath in his
form 001 he submitted to INEC for the purpose of clearance for the
presidential election.

In the Notice of Appeal marked: CA/A/436/2019, the appellants
are asking the apex court for an Order to set aside the judgment of
the Court of Appeal and hear the matter on merit and grant the
reliefs sought in the Originating Summons.

The Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice
Mohammed Idris had on July 12, 2019, held that 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.

The suit was accordingly dismissed for being incompetent and
lacking in merit.

In the Notice of Appeal dated and filed July 24, 2019, the
appellants through their counsel, Ukpai Ukairo, presented 12
grounds for the setting aside of the judgment of the Court of
Appeal, Abuja, amongst which are; that the “Learned Justices of the
Court of Appeal erred in law in relying on a Preliminary Objection
withdrawn and struck out by the Court of Appeal in striking out and
dismissing the appeal.

“The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law and
breached the right of the Appellants to fair hearing by relying on
a Preliminary Objection, withdrawn by the 2nd Respondent and struck
out by the Court, thus being a case not made out or relied upon or
abandoned by a party in entering a decision in a judgment.

“The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law in
holding that “the failure of the Registrar to sign the Originating
Summons is fatal and goes to the issue of jurisdiction” and thereby
struck out the Originating Summons.

“The Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law in
holding that delving into the other issues raised in the appeal
will be regarded as an academic exercise as the case has been held
to have been statute-barred by virtue of Section 285(9) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 4th
alteration and robs this court of its jurisdiction”.

According to Ukairo, the appellants in the brief of argument
distilled two issues for determination, (i). Whether the Learned
Trial Judge was right in relying on the processes filed by the 1st
defendant through a Law Officer in the Ministry of Justice?

(ii). Whether the Learned Trial Judge was right in holding that
the suit was statute-barred by computing the number of days from
the 28th day of September 2018 when the 2nd Respondent held its
primary election wherein the 1st Respondent was elected as a
candidate of the 2nd Respondent?

The appellants had approached the appellate court to nullify and
set aside the Judgment of the Abuja division of the Federal High
Court which declined to hear their suit instituted to challenge the
educational qualification of President Buhari before the conduct of
the 2019 general election.

But the appellate court in a judgement delivered held that the
suit had been cut up by the Fourth Alteration to the 1999
Constitution which stipulates a 14 days time period within which an
election matter must be filed.

Though the appellate court agreed with the trial court that the
suit was statute-barred having filed out of time, it, however,
disagreed with the trial court on the date the cause of action took
place.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed had in his judgment held that the cause
of action took place on September 28, 2018, when the APC held its
primary election to select the candidate of the party in the 2019
general election.

But the appellate court however held that the cause of action
took place on October 18, 2018, the date Buhari submitted his form
001 to INEC for the purpose of clearance for the presidential
election.

The appellants had filed the suit on November 5, 2018, claiming
October 25, the date INEC published the list of successful
candidates in the 2019 general election as the date the cause of
action arose, making the suit to be competent.

The three man panel of the justices of the Court of Appeal had
also dismissed the suit based on the preliminary objection filed by
the APC’s lawyer challenging the jurisdiction of the suit on the
grounds that it is incompetent.

The justices held that the failure of the Registrar of the
Federal High Court to transmit the record of proceedings was fatal
to the originating summon and makes the suit incompetent.

The decision prompted the appellants to approach the apex court
in their further quest for justice.

Kalu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy El-Kuris had approached the
appellate court to nullify and set aside the Judgment of the Abuja
division of the Federal High Court which declined to hear their
suit instituted to challenge the educational qualification of
President Buhari before the conduct of the 2019 general
election.

Among the reliefs sought is a declaration that Buhari submitted
false information regarding his qualification and certificate to
INEC for the purpose of contesting election into the office of the
President of Nigeria and that he should be disqualified.

They also prayed for an order of the court directing INEC to
remove Buhari’s name as a candidate of APC and another order
restraining Buhari from parading himself as a candidate in the 2019
presidential election and also APC from recognizing Buhari as a
candidate.

The Federal High Court had on May 2 declined to grant the
request of the appellants on the grounds that the suit was not
filed within the time allowed by law and therefore sustained the
preliminary objection raised by Buhari at the hearing.

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