By TINA TIMOTHY

An Onitsha-based Human Rights Lawyer and President of Voters Rights Association of Nigeria (VRAN), Dr. Jezie Ekejiuba, has sued the Federal Government (FG) and four others over what he described as the discriminatory clearance of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest in the forthcoming February 25, 2023 Presidential poll.

The suit, which seeks Atiku’s disqualification from contesting the election, has the FG, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidential Candidate of the PDP as 1st to 5th Respondents respectively.

In the fundamental human rights suit instituted at the Federal High Court, Awka, last Friday, November 25, 2022, Ekejiuba is seeking the following reliefs:

“A Declaration that the executive or administrative policy (Northernisation of power policy) of the 1st to 3rd Respondents activated sometime on September 20, 2022 by the 1st to 3rd Respondents – which – on the one hand, threatened to deny and/or denied or refused to accord to the Applicant his privilege or advantage to have a sense of belonging to the nation which he and other Southern Nigerian citizens are obliged to continue to benefit from the rotational Presidency of Nigeria headed by a fellow Southern Nigerian citizen Mr. Peter Obi or Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and/or any other fellow Southern Nigerian citizen cleared to contest in the 2023 Presidential election for his/her election as the next President of Nigeria to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in line with the power rotation convention practiced in Nigeria since 1999 to date between the citizens of Southern Nigeria and the citizens of Northern Nigeria pursuant to the Federal Character of Nigeria State Policy under Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended – and – on the other hand, allowed or gave clearance to the 5th Respondent (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar), a Northern Nigerian citizen sponsored by the 4th Respondent to also contest in the said Presidential election for his election as the next President of Nigeria to succeed President Buhari contrary to the aforesaid State Policy in order to continue to accord to him the same privilege or advantage to have a sense of belonging to the nation which he and other Northern Nigerian citizens have hitherto benefited from the rotational Presidency of Nigeria headed by a fellow Northern Nigerian citizen, President Buhari elected as President of Nigeria for Eight (8) consecutive years from May 29, 2015 to May 29, 2023 is discriminatory against the Applicant and the group or class he represents on grounds of community, ethnic group and place of origin and therefore violate the Applicant's Fundamental right to freedom from discrimination guaranteed under Section 42 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.

“A Declaration that the executive or administrative policy (Northernisation of power policy) of the 1st to 3rd Respondents activated sometime on September 20, 2022 by the 1st to 3rd Respondents – which – on the one hand, threatened to deny and/or denied or refused to accord to the Applicant his privilege or advantage to have a sense of belonging to the nation aforesaid – and – on the other hand, allowed or gave clearance to the 5th Respondent (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar), a Northern Nigerian citizen sponsored by the 4th Respondent to also contest in the said Presidential election for his election as the next President of Nigeria to succeed President Buhari contrary to the aforesaid State Policy in order to continue to accord to him the same privilege or advantage to have a sense of belonging to the nation aforesaid is a gross violation of Section 42(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and therefore unconstitutional, null and void ab initio.

“An Order setting aside, nullifying and or voiding ab initio, any election of the 5th Respondent (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar) as the next President of Nigeria to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2023 Presidential election for same being discriminatory against the Applicant and a gross violation of Section 42(1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.

“An Order of Perpetual Injunction restraining the Respondents either by themselves or through their servants, lawful agents, officers, privies or assigns from further acts of discrimination against the Applicant in the manner of any discriminatory election of the 5th Respondent complained hereof.

“An Order compelling each of the Respondents to pay to the Applicant the sum of N200M each as Compensatory and General damages for the threatened violation and or gross violation of the Applicant's Fundamental right to Freedom from discrimination.

“AND for such further or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”

Joined as the 1st to 5th Respondents in the suit marked FHC/AWK/CS/198/2022 are the Federal Government of Nigeria, Attorney- General of the Federation, Independent National Electoral Commission, People's Democratic Party and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

The application is supported by a Statement and an Affidavit of 30 Paragraphs and 4 Exhibits deposed by Ekejiuba and also a Written Address containing the arguments by Ekejiuba himself.

Ekejiuba in his legal grounds in his Statement in support of the application, stated amongst others, as follows:

“The Applicant’s Fundamental right to be accorded his privilege or advantage is protected under Section 42 (1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.

“The Applicant's Constitutional right to have or be given a sense of belonging to the nation which is his privilege or advantage is donated to him and protected as a Federal Character of Nigeria State Policy under Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and defined by Section 318 of the same Constitution.

“The Applicant's Fundamental right to be accorded his privilege or advantage inter alia to have a sense of belonging to the nation is worthy of protection by the Honourable Court pursuant to the spirits and letters of Section 46(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.”

No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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