Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate for the general election of 2023, is currently the target of a new disqualification lawsuit filed at a Federal High Court in Abuja due to his suspected dual citizenship.
Another political party, the National Rescue Movement (NRM), which among other things claimed that the presidential candidate is no longer suitable, proper, and qualified for the most prestigious post in Nigeria due to his dual citizenship, brought Obi before the court.
Check Also: Canada slams a ban on Nigerians, others from buying residential houses
In the new lawsuit against Obi, the plaintiff is asking the court to rule that he should be disqualified from running for president due to a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The Labour Party candidate was charged with violating Sections 1 and 137 of the Nigerian Constitution by obtaining citizenship of Dallas, Texas, the United States of America, according to the lawsuit with the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1842/2022.
The party requested an order of perpetual injunction from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prohibiting it from recognizing, engaging with, or granting Peter Obi any right or privilege to run for president. The party’s attorney was Mohammed Danjuma.
Obi was stated to have freely gained Dallas citizenship and the certificate of citizenship handed to him by the Mayor of Dallas, Mr. Eric Johnson, in a 14-paragraph declaration in support of the lawsuit.
The party provided a picture and a video of the citizenship certificate presentation to back up its case against the defendant.
When the case was discussed on Monday, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo berated the plaintiff for failing to serve the defendants with the original summons.
Justice Ekwo then set the case’s mention for February 10 and threatened to dismiss it if the plaintiff failed to serve Peter Obi with court papers before the delayed date.
INEC, Obi, and Labour Party are the first through third defendants in the lawsuit, respectively.
