25% FCT Votes: Tinubu Records Victory In Abuja Court

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by five residents of the Federal Capital Territory.

Identified as registered voters of the FCT, the five applicants, Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffery Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuike Nwachukwu prayed to the court to halt the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.

The five residents in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023 had earlier urged the court to stop the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, any other judicial officer and/or any other authority or person from swearing in any candidate in the February 25 presidential election as President or Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Details of the suit against Tinubu

The Abuja residents in the suit said “A declaration that no state of the country is at the same time the FCT for any purpose whatsoever, including, in particular, under section 134 (2) (b) of the Constitution. A declaration that no candidate in the February 25 presidential election in the country may validly be declared elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without that candidate obtaining at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT, Abuja.

Citing the Attorney-General of the Federation as the first respondent the suit read, “A declaration that no candidate in the February 25 presidential election may validly be sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, without such candidate having obtained 25% of the votes cast in FCT, Abuja.

Recall that The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier argued that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, did not have to score 25 votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before being declared Nigeria’s president-elect.