The Supreme Court has struck out the suit filed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) to void section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
In a unanimous decision, yesterday, the apex court led by Justice Muhammad Dattijo held that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which it said amounted to an abuse of the judicial process.
The seven-man panel held that President Buhari was not a proper person to approach the apex court with such suit, owing to the nature of reliefs that were sought.
Buhari and Malami had in the suit contended that section 84 (12) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2022 was inconsistent with the provisions of sections 42, 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 147, 151, 177, 182, 192 and 196 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
The plaintiffs, among other things, sought “a declaration that by the joint and or combined reading of Section 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 147, 151, 177, 182, 192 and 196 of the constitution, the provision of Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 which also ignores Section 84(3) of the same Act, is an additional qualifying and/or disqualifying factors for the National Assembly, House of Assembly, Gubernatorial and Presidential elections as enshrined in the said constitution, hence unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void”.
They also sought “a declaration that having regard to the clear provision of section 1(3) of the constitution read together with section 4 of the same constitution, the legislative powers vested in the defendant do not permit or empower it to make any other law prescribing additional qualifying/disqualifying grounds for election to the national assembly, house of assembly, gubernatorial and presidential election outside the express constitutional qualification and disqualification provisions as already provided in each or all of sections 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 147, 151, 177, 182, 192 and 196 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).” The President and minister contended that without amendment to any of those sections, the action of the defendant in prescribing new qualification and disqualification provision is unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
Buhari and Malami then prayed the apex court for “an order nullifying the provision of Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 by application of the blue-pencil rule, for being unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and having been made in excess of the legislative powers of the defendant as enshrined in section 4 of the constitution (as amended).”
Although the National Assembly was originally cited as sole respondent in the matter, Rivers State, through the Speaker of its House of Assembly and its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, subsequently applied and were joined as interested parties in the matter.
While opposing the suit, Rivers State, in its preliminary objection it filed before the apex court, argued that section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 was “neither a detraction from the provisions of section 84(3) of the same Act nor from the provision of sections 42(1), 65, 66, 107, 131, 137, 177, 182 and 192 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and there is no any abuse of the Constitution by the defendant in enacting the provisions of section 84(12) of the Act”.
It argued that President Buhari, having assented to the Electoral Bill, he, “has conclusively discharged his duty under the Constitution”.
The counsel to the state, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), argued that the suit ought to have been filed before a High Court since President Buhari did not challenge the encroachment on his executive powers by the legislature.
Likewise, the National Assembly, through its lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, asked the Supreme Court to strike out the suit, accusing both Buhari and Malami of abusing the judicial process. He argued that the President, having assented to the Electoral Act, could not turn back to challenge its provisions in court.
“The crux of our objection is that the plaintiffs as constituted do not have the legal right to invoke the original jurisdiction of this court as provided for in section 232 (1) of the Constitution.
“It can only be invoked if there is a dispute between the President and the National Assembly, when there is a dispute on the issue of law.
“There are other places where this issue can be ventilated. It is not in this court. It appears as if the President is suing himself, since he also assented to the Electoral Act in question.
“The suit ought to have been filed in the name of those appointees and in that case we would not have been in this court. What they have attempted to do is to use the name of the President to invoke the original jurisdiction of this court, in representative capacity”, Ajulo argued.
