A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, struck out a suit challenging the Nigerian citizenship of a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.
Justice Inyang Ekwo struck out the suit filed by the incorporated trustees of the Egalitarian Mission for Africa challenging the Nigerian citizenship of the former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate.
The court held that the civil rights organisation, which has a legal practitioner, Kayode Ajulo, as its Executive Director, had no legal right in the first instance to query the citizenship of a former vice-president.
According to Justice Ekwo, having been registered under the Company and Allied Matters Act with special functions, the CSO could not jump into public interest litigation that was not part of its objectives.
He cautioned CSOs to refrain from filing frivolous applications targeted at harassing politically exposed Nigerians.
Justice Ekwo held that the incorporated trustees lacked the locus standi to institute the legal action, describing them as “busy body and meddlesome interlopers”.
The incorporated trustees of EMA had asked the court to disqualify Atiku as the presidential candidate of the PDP and restrain him from contesting the February 16, 2019 presidential election over the circumstances surrounding his citizenship.
