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APC to sue President for contempt over troops deployment

By Abiodun Fanoro
26 March 2015   |   5:33 am
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded that President Goodluck Jonathan must comply with the various court decisions barring him from deploying the military for the elections.

President-Ebele-JonathanTHE All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded that President Goodluck Jonathan must comply with the various court decisions barring him from deploying the military for the elections.

The party has also threatened to sue the President for contempt of court if he failed to comply with the court judgments.

According to the party: “These judicial precedents must be respected by the Jonathan administration. If the administration breaches the court decision, we shall not hesitate to sue the PDP-led government for contempt of court,” which he said, was capable of subverting the country’s democratic rule.

There are already three court judgments, one from the Court of Appeal and two from Federal High Courts barring President Jonathan from deploying soldiers for the election. The latest was made on Tuesday by the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The party made this demand yesterday in a statement by its Deputy National Vice Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who noted that the decisions of the Federal High Courts were predicated on the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin in a suit between APC and Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.

The statement noted that, “the decisions of courts of competent jurisdictions have put paid to argument on whether or not soldiers can be deployed for the purpose of elections.”

The party said, attempts by the Jonathan administration to disobey the rulings would amount to “subversion of the rule of law and Nigeria’s fledgling democratic order.”

Akinyelure argued that Sections 215 and 217 of the 1999 Constitution “limit the power of the President only to deploy soldiers for the suppression of insurrection and to aid the police to restore order when it has broken down.”

“The 1999 constitution does not make provision for the military to be involved in civil activities. If soldiers must vote, it must be in their barracks. On this note, armed forces have no role in elections.”

“The courts of competent jurisdiction have already established this position. This was evident in the decision of Justice Mohammed Rilwan of the Federal High Court sitting Sokoto. It was also clear in the judgment of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court sitting Lagos.”

2 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    THESE APC GUYS ARE IRRESPONSIBLE AND SENSELESS
    JUDGEMENTS REFER TO SOLDIERS AT POLLING BOOTS
    SOLDIERS ARE DEPLOYED TO PROVIDE SECURITY WITHIN THE CITIES – NOT AT POLLING BOOTS
    ALL THE POLLS AT EDO, EKITI, OSUN WHERE SOLDIERS PROVIDED SECURITY WERE FEE AND FAIR
    THEY MERELY KEEP AWAY TROUBLE MAKERS AND GIVE CITIZENS THE GUARANTEE OF SAFETY
    RIGHT NOW IN LAGOS ARES SUCH AS FADEYI, ILUPEJU, OJUWOYE/MUSHIN HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY AREA BOYS AND THUGS WHO ARE BETTER ARMED BY THE POLICE
    THE RESIDENTS NEED SOLDIERS TO GUARANTY PEACE
    APC WANTS TO RIG ELECTIONS IN CERTAIN AREA THAT IS WHY THEY ARE AFRAID OF SOLDIERS

  • Author’s gravatar

    The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the President to determine the deployment of troops and for what purpose. These are Nigerian soldiers, not APC or PDP soldiers. The men and women of the armed forces of Nigeria are well educated and they understand what is at stake in these elections. President Jonathan has vowed that a situation where thugs of a loosing party slaughter innocent men and women, including Youth Corp volunteers, must not happen again under his watch. If APC does not like it, too bad!