Nigeria's Federal High Court has fixed 27 January 2023 to pass judgment on the case challenging the candidacy of Bola Tinubu, who has been slated to represent the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential elections, according to media reports.
Tinubu, who served as governor of Nigeria's most populous Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, was chosen by the APC as its presidential candidate in June this year.
Subsequently, a case against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was filed by Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International. Among other things, the group accused the APC and INEC of violating Section 91(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which forbids political parties to receive contributions that exceed 50Mln naira (around $108,000) without notifying the electoral commission of the source.
According to claimants, the APC failed or refused to declare the source of a 100Mln naira contribution it received.
Tinubu's lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the lawsuit because of its incompetence. According to the lawyer, the claimants failed to file the case within the 14-day period, as required by the Constitution. Moreover, he said, the petitioner had no legal right to sue the commission, being neither a political party nor a candidate. Fagbemi also noted that the case was out of the court's jurisdiction.
If Tinubu wins the case, he will compete in February against Atiku Abubakar from the Peoples Democratic Party, one of the two major parties in Nigeria, and Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the more niche Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party respectively.