25% Vote In ABUJA: High Court Makes Final Decision On Suit Seeking To Nullify Tinubu’s Victory

The Federal High Court in Abuja has made a decision to dismiss a suit that was filed by five residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The suit aimed to prevent the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.

According to Tuesday’s presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo, the attorney for the five residents has been instructed to pay N10 million to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The issue of requiring 25 percent of votes in the FCT, Abuja had been a topic of constitutional controversy prior to Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29th, leading some individuals to seek legal resolution.

According to a report by The Punch , Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), had expressed an opinion that a presidential candidate should obtain a minimum of 25% of the votes in Abuja to be declared the winner of the election.

“As far as I am concerned, you must also win 25% in FCT, but it’ s not for me to say. The tribunal can answer this question quite easily in one hour. It’ s not a difficult question,” the lawyer had stated.

There has been some difficulty among Nigerians in interpreting Section 133 (1) (b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which outlines the requirements for a candidate to be declared president. The section states that a candidate must have received at least one-quarter of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The attorney emphasized that, in this particular case, there is a clear separation of FCT as outlined in the Constitution.

He expressed his opinion that the current political climate in the country had become highly charged due to recent events.

The attorney suggested that settling the election petition issue could potentially restore order.

Ekwo made a ruling on the case and expressed that the plaintiffs may not have the necessary legal standing to bring the lawsuit.

As per the presiding judge, it is recommended to file the lawsuit at the presidential election petition tribunal instead of the federal high court.