The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, which nullified the provision of Section 84 subsection 12 of the Electoral Act 2022.
A 3-Man Panel of Justices of the Appellate court led by Justice Hamma Barka held that the Federal High Court in Umuahia lacked the jurisdiction to have entertained the suit.
Justice Barka contended that the plaintiff, Mr. Nduka Edede did not have the locus standi to have filed the suit in the first place.
The appellate court held that Mr. Edede did not establish any cause of action which could have warranted him to approach the court on the issue because he did not establish that he was directly affected by the provision of section 84 subsection 12.
However, determining on its merit of the appeal which was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the appellate court held that the provision “is unconstitutional because it violates Section 42 (1)(a) of the Constitution and denies a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in election.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal struck out the suit which Edede filed before the Umuahia division of the Federal High Court.
RADIO NIGERIA