The Federal High Court in Umuahia’s decision to strike down Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
A three-member panel of the court, chaired by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, ruled on Wednesday in Abuja that the Federal High Court Umuahia had jurisdiction to hear the case because the plaintiff, Nduka Edede, lacked the locus standi to file the complaint in the first place.
The appeal court went on to say that Edede had not shown any cause of action to justify his petition to the court because he had not shown that he was personally impacted by the provision.
The FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 complaint filed by Edede before the Umuahia court was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
While deciding the merits of the case, the appellate court found the provision unconstitutional because it violated Section 42 (1)(a) of the Constitution and denied a class of Nigerian citizens their right to vote.
The decision was handed down on the PDP’s CA/OW/87/2022 appeal.
