Court Reserves Judgement In The Suit Seeking To Stop Musliu ObanikoroFrom Contesting For Any Electoral Office In Nigeria.
Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has slated March 5, 2015, for judgment in a suit seeking to stop a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, from ever contesting for any electoral office in Nigeria.
Among the allegations levelled against the ex-minister was that he had at one time or the other falsified his age and had submitted a forged birth certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the purpose of contesting governorship election in Lagos State.
Obanikoro’s accusers also asked the court to determine whether he was still eligible to contest any election in Nigeria having “voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America in addition to the citizenship of Nigeria.”
The action was instituted shortly before the Lagos Peoples Democracy Party’s primary which held on December 8, last year.
The three plaintiffs in the suit are members of the PDP, namely: Micheal Ogun, Suleiman Saheed and Wasiu Odusan.
Apart from their originating summons, they had also filed an ex parte application, wherein they urged Justice Kazeem Alogba to stop Obanikoro from standing for the PDP governorship primary in Lagos State.
The judge, however, declined to stop Obanikoro from participating in the said primary, wherein Mr. Jimi Agbaje was eventually declared winner.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mr. Wahab Shittu, had vehemently argued that the matter was one that bordered on constitutional infringement.
He added that whatever judgment arrived at by the court would become an important reference point on the nation’s political landscape.
“A democracy is principally founded on the rule of law. At all times there are two choices to make, whether you want to be guided by the rule of law or by the culture of impunity. Your Lordship will decide this issue for history and for posterity,” Shittu said.
According to him, Obanikoro’s alleged misconduct were an affront on Section 182(1) (a) (j) of the 1999 Constitution and sections 31 (2), 50 (6) and (8) and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
But in his objection, Obanikoro, through his counsel, Gbanga Ojo, described the suit as speculative and an abuse of court processes.
He urged Alogba to promptly dismiss the suit for failure to disclose any reasonable cause of action.
The thrust of Ojo’s contention was that all the documents tendered as exhibits before the court by Obanikoro’s accusers were either uncertified public documents or documents that were printed from the Internet, the authenticity of which could not be substantiated.
Besides, Ojo argued that the case had been overtaken by events and had thus become merely academic, since the PDP governorship primary had already been held and Obanikoro had stood for the election.
Wahab however asked the court not to look at the exhibits presented by the plaintiffs in isolation but to consider them in concert with the averrments in the plaintiffs’ affidavit.
Alogba fixed March 5, 2015 for judgment.
Obanikoro’s accusers also asked the court to determine whether he was still eligible to contest any election in Nigeria having “voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America in addition to the citizenship of Nigeria.”
The action was instituted shortly before the Lagos Peoples Democracy Party’s primary which held on December 8, last year.
The three plaintiffs in the suit are members of the PDP, namely: Micheal Ogun, Suleiman Saheed and Wasiu Odusan.
Apart from their originating summons, they had also filed an ex parte application, wherein they urged Justice Kazeem Alogba to stop Obanikoro from standing for the PDP governorship primary in Lagos State.
The judge, however, declined to stop Obanikoro from participating in the said primary, wherein Mr. Jimi Agbaje was eventually declared winner.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mr. Wahab Shittu, had vehemently argued that the matter was one that bordered on constitutional infringement.
He added that whatever judgment arrived at by the court would become an important reference point on the nation’s political landscape.
“A democracy is principally founded on the rule of law. At all times there are two choices to make, whether you want to be guided by the rule of law or by the culture of impunity. Your Lordship will decide this issue for history and for posterity,” Shittu said.
According to him, Obanikoro’s alleged misconduct were an affront on Section 182(1) (a) (j) of the 1999 Constitution and sections 31 (2), 50 (6) and (8) and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
But in his objection, Obanikoro, through his counsel, Gbanga Ojo, described the suit as speculative and an abuse of court processes.
He urged Alogba to promptly dismiss the suit for failure to disclose any reasonable cause of action.
The thrust of Ojo’s contention was that all the documents tendered as exhibits before the court by Obanikoro’s accusers were either uncertified public documents or documents that were printed from the Internet, the authenticity of which could not be substantiated.
Besides, Ojo argued that the case had been overtaken by events and had thus become merely academic, since the PDP governorship primary had already been held and Obanikoro had stood for the election.
Wahab however asked the court not to look at the exhibits presented by the plaintiffs in isolation but to consider them in concert with the averrments in the plaintiffs’ affidavit.
Alogba fixed March 5, 2015 for judgment.
Source : Daily Times © 2014
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