The appellants: Kalu Kalu, Labaran Ismail and Hassy Kyari El-Kuris, said in the appeal marked No CA/A/436/2019 challenging the decision of Federal High Court delivered on May 2, on suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/1310/2018, that the judge erred by dismissing their suit on the ground that it was statute barred.
The appellants as plaintiffs had on November 5, 2018 filed an originating summons seeking declaration of the court that Muhammad Buhari (1st respondent) to the suit submitted false information regarding his education qualification/ certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the purpose of contesting the 2019 general election.
They further prayed that the President having submitted false information regarding his certificate/ educational is disqualified from contesting into the office president among other prayers.
Their prayers were dismissed by the trial court which found that the suit was statute barred having been filed outside the 14 days prescribed by law.
Aggrieved by the decision, the appellants have asked the appellate court to determine whether the trial court was right in relying on the processes filed by the 1st respondent (Buhari) through a law officer in the federal Ministry of Justice Secondly, whether the trial judge was right in holding that the suit was statute barred by computing the number of days from September 28, 2018 when the (APC) second respondent held its primary election wherein Buhari was elected as a candidate of the APC.
The appellants are contending that the trial judge erred when he held that the objection to the representation by the attorney general of federation and the processes was belated in that there was no objection to the appearance of the law officers and the appellants having reacted to the processes filed.
The appellants claimed that there was frontal challenge by them to the processes filed on behalf of Buhari which the court was bound to rule upon, but swept it under the carpet.
They maintained that a lawyer in the office of the attorney general of the federation cannot appear or file processes for Buhari in a suit of this nature.
They also urged the Court of Appeal to reverse the lower court’s decision on the ground that it erred in computing when the cause of action arose.
According to the appellants, the cause of action cannot accrue earlier than the date of publication of the document by INEC who is the third respondents.
Therefore, they urged the appellate court to reverse the decision of the trial court and assume original jurisdiction on the matter and strike out all the processes filed by Buhari through a lawyer in the attorney-general of the federation office.
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