Former Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba’s suit seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. The court’s three-member panel delivered its judgment on Friday, stating that Nwajiuba’s appeal lacked merit.
The court upheld the arguments made by Thomas Ojo (of Lateef Fagbemi and Co), representing Tinubu, and Babatunde Ogala (SAN), representing the APC, that the appeal was frivolous. The court awarded a cost of N3 million against Nwajiuba, to be paid at N1 million to each of the three respondents – Tinubu, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court. It held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit as it was filed outside the statutorily mandated and allowed period of 14 days. The Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate since the lower court was robbed of jurisdiction.
Nwajiuba had sought to reverse the December 23 judgment given against him by Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and to order the trial court to hear his suit on merit. His case at the Federal High Court sought to disqualify Tinubu as a presidential candidate. The Court of Appeal’s judgment has cleared the way for Tinubu to contest the presidential election.
