A lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi has filed a lawsuit at the federal high court in Abuja, challenging the eligibility of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to contest in 2023 presidency, days after he won the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.

The lawyer claimed that Atiku is not constitutionally qualified to participate in the presidential poll in the lawsuit which has the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), attorney-general of the federation (AGF) listed as the second, third and fourth defendants.

Jideobi asked the court to determine;

“Whether by the combined provisions of sections 1(1) & (2), 25 and 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), only a Nigeria citizen by birth can contest for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Whether by the combined interpretation of sections 1(1) & (2), 25(1) & (2) and 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and giving the circumstances surrounding the birth of the 1st Defendant, he can be cleared by the 2nd and 3rd defendants to contest for the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria”.

A similar lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa in 2019, was dismissed by Justice Inyang Ekwo on February 21, 2022, on grounds of lacking merit.