Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, had the last laugh over the question mark that had been hanging on his Nigerian citizenship as a Federal High Court in Abuja quashed a suit challenging his citizenship.
Striking out the suit instituted by Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa, Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo held that the non-governmental organisation (NGO) had no legal right to query the former Vice President’s citizenship.
The court ruled that the NGO, having been registered under Company and Allied Matters Act with special functions, crossed the line by jumping into public-interest litigation.
Justice Ekwo warned NGOs to refrain from filing frivolous applications targeted at harassing politically exposed Nigerians.
According to the judge, the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa did not have the locus standi to institute the legal action, describing the non-profit organization as a “busy body and meddlesome interloper”.
The NGO had approached the court to disqualify Atiku, who was then the presidential standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from contesting the February 16, 2019, presidential election over alleged doubts surrounding his citizenship.
The suit, filed on February 11, 2019, had Atiku, PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Adamawa State as defendants.