A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a lawsuit filed by five Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents that sought to halt the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who presided over the case, announced the verdict on Tuesday and ordered the residents’ lawyer to pay a fine of N10 million each to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
The complainants – Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffrey Ucheh Osang Paul, and Chibuike Nwanchukwu – jointly filed the lawsuit on April 28, representing themselves and other residents and registered voters of the FCT.
The plaintiffs contended that Tinubu failed to secure a minimum of 25 percent of the votes in the FCT. Their central argument revolved around the interpretation of Section 134(2)(b) of the Constitution, questioning whether the elected president of Nigeria, who subsequently becomes the administrator of the FCT through the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority, is required to obtain at least 25 percent of the votes cast in the FCT during the initial balloting.
In addition, the plaintiffs sought a declaration to extend former President Buhari’s tenure and urged the court to invalidate Tinubu’s certificate of return. They also requested an injunction to prevent the CJN and any other judicial officer from administering the oath of office to Tinubu.
Justice Ekwo, in delivering the ruling, concluded that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to bring the case before the Federal High Court. The presiding judge emphasized that the appropriate forum for such matters would be the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal rather than the Federal High Court.
