A
Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to stop the general
election over the exclusion of Nigerians in diaspora from voting.
Delivering
judgment on Wednesday, Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, held that the suit
lacked merit.
judge
also held that the right to vote in elections was not guaranteed by the
country’s laws for Nigerians living abroad, the Cable News reports.
“The
court does not enact laws. It cannot also expand the law in order to
accommodate an issue before it, no matter how sympathetic or humanitarian the
cause or situation is,” the court held.
“It
only interprets and expounds the laws, and it is the law as stated before in
this judgment, that when interpreting the provisions of a statute, the court
must not ascribe meanings to clear, plain and unambiguous provisions in order
to make such provisions conform to the court’s view of their meanings or what
they ought to be.”
The
judge said by the provisions of sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the 1999
constitution (as amended), the right to vote is reserved for Nigerian citizens
resident in Nigeria.
“The
right to vote for a president or governor is tied to the right to vote in an
election of any legislative house, going by the provisions of sections 132(5)
and 178(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended),” the judge added.
Ekwo
also raised concerns over the filing of the suit three months to the general
election.
“The
applicants can only be commended for bringing this matter to the fore. However,
the court is not where the solution lies for now,” he said.
“What
this case has revealed is that there is lacuna in the existing law with respect
to the right of Nigerians in the diaspora to votes in elections in Nigeria.”
