Senior Lawyer Dismisses Fresh Suit To Bar Jonathan From 2027 Race

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, has stated that the suit filed successful the Federal High Court, Abuja to forestall ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting successful 2027 is “an maltreatment of tribunal process.”

The elder lawyer made this known Tuesday, during an interrogation connected Arise TV’s Morning Show.

He said, “An maltreatment of tribunal process is erstwhile you privation to relitigate a lawsuit oregon an contented that has already been settled by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction,” helium said.

He added that Jonathan’s qualification oregon disqualification has already been adjudicated successful Yenegoa, and since “nobody has taken that contented connected entreaty … until that judgement is acceptable aside, it remains what the instrumentality is.”

Maduabuchi said immoderate enactment who takes that settled contented to a tribunal of coordinate jurisdiction is simply “abusing the process of the court” and branded specified enactment arsenic 1 by “a engaged body.”

He observed that what controls immoderate concern is the instrumentality successful unit “when the enactment successful contented was done,” asking whether Section 1373 existed successful 2010 erstwhile Jonathan took the oath of office.

He said the instrumentality lone came into effect successful 2018 and “when Goodluck Jonathan was taking the oath of bureau … determination was nary statutory regulation … which could inhibit him from moving his constitutionally guaranteed 2 terms.”

He questioned whether Jonathan swore immoderate oath aft the amendment of 1373 and likened attempts to use a aboriginal instrumentality earlier to punishing idiosyncratic nether a instrumentality that did not beryllium erstwhile the enactment occurred.

He recalled that judges’ status property was formerly 65, past changed to 70, and asked if a justice who had retired conscionable earlier that alteration would writer to beryllium reinstated nether the caller law.

He emphasised that instrumentality demands certainty, and noted that “in 2011 and 2010, erstwhile Goodluck Jonathan swore the oath … Prohibition of 1372 was not successful existence. It was not binding connected him.”

He said nary “pyrotechnic” statement tin respire beingness into a instrumentality that did not exist.

He further referenced a lawsuit successful the Federal Court of Appeal which affirmed that Jonathan had the close to tally and 1 cannot use retrospective laws to him.