Abia State division of the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia on Friday declared Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act “unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever”.
In her judgment, Justice Anyadike consequently ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami to delete Section 84 (12) of the amended Electoral Act without delay.
According to her, the section of the Electoral Amendment Act “ought to be struck down as it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution”.
She ordered that the Attorney General of the Federation “forthwith delete the said Subsection 12 of Section 84 from the body of the Electoral Act, 2022”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Nduka Edede, a lawyer and chieftain of the Action Alliance (AA) party, had approached the court, in the suit that had the Attorney General of the Federation as the Defendant.
The plaintiff had asked the court to determine whether Section 84(12) when read together with Sections 66(1)(f) 107(1)(f)(137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution, was not inconsistent.
The court in the suit, marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, agreed with the submissions and ordered that Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act was inconsistent with the rights of Nigerian citizens.
