President Goodluck Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest the 2015 presidential election, a Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria ruled on Monday.
The presiding judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, struck out the suit filed by Richard Mneaga and Shuaibu Lili, seeking to get the court to disqualify President Jonathan from running in 2015.
In the suit, filed on October 7, 2013, the plaintiffs contended that Jonathan had completed eight years in office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria calculated from May 29, 2007.
Therefore, the plaintiffs prayed to the court to disqualify Jonathan from presenting himself as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2015 election.
They also sought that the court should order the Independent National Electoral Commission to restrain the PDP from accepting nomination of Jonathan as its presidential candidate in the 2015 election.
Among others, the plaintiffs also sought for “a declaration that President Jonathan is not entitled to tenure of office as President exceeding eight years calculated from 2007, till last holder of the said office”.
Justice Anyadike, in her ruling said the plaintiffs lack the locus standi to seek the relief restraining the president from contesting.
She affirmed that President Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest the presidential election in 2015 if he so desires.
According to the Judge, the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the matter since the plaintiffs did not follow the due process of filing their case, noting that the petition was served out of jurisdiction.
