A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by five residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who sought to stop the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.
Presiding Judge Inyang Ekwo ruled on Tuesday and ordered the lawyer representing the residents to pay a sum of N10 million each to the attorney-general of the federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
The plaintiffs claimed that Tinubu did not secure at least 25 percent of the votes in the FCT. The suit, labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023, was filed on April 28.
The plaintiffs, namely Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffrey Ucheh Osang Paul, and Chibuike Nwanchukwu, filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other residents and registered voters in the FCT.
They asked the court to determine whether the person elected as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and administrator of the FCT is required, on the first ballot, to obtain at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT, as stated in section 134(2)(b) of the Constitution.
The plaintiffs also sought a declaration to extend former President Buhari's tenure and requested the court to set aside the certificate of return issued to Tinubu and restrain the CJN and any other judicial officer from swearing him in.
In his ruling, Judge Ekwo stated that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to file the suit. He further emphasized that such a suit should be filed at the presidential election petition tribunal rather than the Federal high Court.
