Presidential election in Nigeria: the courts annul the candidacy of opposition leader Atiku Abubakar

Nigerian justice on Thursday annulled the candidacy of former vice-president and opposition leader Atiku Abubakar for the January presidential election, the day after the official launch of his election campaign.

Mr. Abubakar's party, the ADC (African Democratic Congress), which is fiercely critical of current President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, is embroiled in a series of legal proceedings stemming from internal disputes. The ADC accuses the ruling party of exploiting these disputes, which the latter denies.

The federal government had already supported another legal action this year concerning the eligibility of the ADC for the 2027 elections.

The Abuja High Court ruling issued on Thursday is a "desperate attempt to paralyze the opposition" by the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC spokesman, in a statement.

The ADC, which said it had not received a copy of the judgment, will challenge this decision "by all available legal means," the spokesman added, while Mr. Abubakar, nearly 80 years old, is on his seventh attempt to win the presidency.

"The APC is absolutely not involved" in this court decision, retorted Daniel Bwala, spokesman for the Nigerian presidency.

Atiku Abubakar had launched his campaign the day before at a rally in Sokoto, in northwestern Nigeria, in front of thousands of supporters.

"The timing of this ruling is no coincidence," he said in a statement Thursday. He did not mention the decision at a rally held later that day in Kebbi State (northwest).

"The APC wants to set Nigeria ablaze," the ADC declared on Thursday, arguing that the court decision deprives Nigerians of the right "to freely choose their leaders."

- "Not democracy" -

According to Nigerian media, the Abuja High Court ruled on Thursday that decisions made on behalf of the ADC by party chairman David Mark were invalidated, including those concerning the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as the party's candidate for the January election.

This decision vindicates ADC member Nafiu Bala Gombe, who had challenged Senator David Mark's appointment as party leader in court.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which validated Mr. Abubakar's candidacy, could not be reached for comment on this decision.

Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin, the ADC leader in Adamawa State (northeast), where Atiku Abubakar is from, told AFP that INEC "hasn't lifted a finger regarding the qualification of our candidates." "We must continue the campaign," he said.

During the 2023 elections in Nigeria, European Union election observers pointed to "excessive pre-election litigation" highlighting "widespread intra-party conflicts." "Among at least 1,200 legal cases, some were perceived as politicized, others as overly technical, while still others overlapped with the voting process," stated the EU observation mission's report.

Also on Thursday, the party of Peter Obi, the other major Nigerian opposition candidate, claimed that its campaign rallies were being disrupted by the APC, citing multiple last-minute cancellations of hotel reservations in Abuja.

"This is not democracy," his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), denounced in a statement.

The presidential spokesman again denied it, saying that "the hotels in Abuja are privately owned."

If Atiku Abubakar cannot run, it would deprive the presidential election of the only candidate from the predominantly Muslim North, a situation likely to cause unrest in a country where regional representation is a politically sensitive issue.

Mr. Abubakar came second in the 2023 presidential election with 29% of the vote. Bola Tinubu won against a divided opposition, with 36.6% of the vote. Peter Obi, who called Thursday's ruling "shocking," came in third.

For several months, Atiku Abubakar has been increasing his attacks against the outgoing head of state, hoping to take advantage of the economic crisis that Nigeria has been going through since the implementation of sweeping reforms by Bola Tinubu, which were praised by economists but have contributed to increased poverty and high inflation.