Admin l Thursday, July 05, 2018
OSHOGBO, Osun, Nigeria – A Federal High Court sitting in Oshogbo on Wednesday granted leave to the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari for constitutional breaches and allegedly using a forged West African Examination Council(WAEC) result to contest the 2015 general election.
Justice Maurine Onyetenu granted the leave compelling the National Assembly to initiate impeachement following a motion brought before it by Kanmi Ajibola and Sulaiman Adeniyi, a lawyer and Human rights activist. Three months ago, the plaintiffs wrote the lower and the upper chambers of the National Assembly on the need to impeach President Buhari, citing alleged constitutional breaches and his alleged forged WAEC certificate.
In the motion ex-parte, they contended that in flagrant violation of the 1999 constitution, President Buhari contested the election, won and was sworn in as the president on May 29, 2015 without possessing the basic constitutional requirement, which would have made him qualified for the contest of the election.
They further alleged that President Buhari in flagrant violation of section 137 (1) (j) of the 1999 constitution presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the purpose of the 2015 presidential election that brought him to the office of the president.
The applications in the suit, are further contending that “In the light of the 4th respondent’s placement to continue in the office as the president, he has no certificate and basic requirement upon which this placement to continue in the office can be placed.”
They accused the president of treating the orders of the court with a great disdain and abuses the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at will, particularly from the angle of the observance of the federal character as contained in section 14 of the constitution.
Justice Onyetenu, in her ruling, granted the applicants leave to move and argue their suit for an order of mandamus, compelling the National Assembly commence the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari.” The court adjourned till October 30, 2018 for the hearing of the suit.
