Court fixes Nov. 26 to hear impeachment suit against Buhari

A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital has fixed November 26 for hearing a suit seeking to compel the National Assembly to begin impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari.

The presiding judge, Justice Maurine Onyetenu made this known on Tuesday, as she entertained the case, which was jointly instituted by a human right lawyer, Kanmi Ajibola, and an activist, Sulaiman Adeniyi against the President for his alleged failure to meet basic requirement to occupy the office of the president.

The applicants had earlier written the National Assembly, alleging constitutional breaches by the president and urged both chambers to begin impeachment of the president.

In the motion ex-parte, the duo were contending 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 qualified him for the contest.

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, further contended 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 also accused the president of treating the orders of the court with great disdain and abuse of 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.

Counsel to the applicants, Samuel Echeonwu, told the court that counsel to the respondents have not served him the process for their objections.

The President who was represented by Solomon Ogunlowo, apologised to the court for his failure to serve the applicants notice of preliminary objections, promising that he would effect the service so that the matter can go on in the next adjournment.

Justice Onyetenu thereafter adjourned the matter to November 26 for hearing.