President Muhammad Buhari and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, have ordered the Supreme Court to nullify the provision of Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
Their request is contained in a suit they filed on April 29, 2022, before the apex court through a group of private lawyers.
The group, including Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), was hired by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
On May 11, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, in Abuja set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court(FHC) in Umuahia which voided the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The panel headed by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka held that the FHC had no jurisdiction to have entertained the case because the plaintiff, Nduka Eddie lacked the locus standi to have filed the suit in the first place.
It however held that if the court was to determine the case on merit, the provision of Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act was unconstitutional, being in breach of Section 42(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution.
Buhari and Malami are therefore of the opinion that Section 84 (12) section of the Electoral Act 2022 conflicts with constitutional provisions.
