Falae files suit

Defeated presidential candidate Olu Falae has appealed against the result of the recent presidential election in Nigeria.

Falae filed suit yesterday (Monday) at the Federal Court of Appeal in Abuja, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s declaration of Olusegun Obasanjo as winner of the poll.

Falae named Obasanjo, INEC, INEC chief Ephraim Akpata and 57 others as respondents in his petition, AFP said. He claimed the election was marred by fraud and bribery, and that Obasanjo, who polled 63 percent of the vote, was unfit to rule because he was convicted of treason and was a member of the Ogboni secret society, BBC reported.

Nigeria’s election rules bar members of secret societies from running for president.

Obasanjo’s Campaign Office in Lagos told IRIN today (Tuesday) there was “no truth to Falae’s claims”. A campaign official said Obasanjo’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would refute all the claims in court.”Falae’s action is inconsequential,” he said. “It’s a joke.”

Obasanjo’s conviction had stemmed from allegations that he was part of a 1995 coup plot against military ruler General Sani Abacha. “The plot is widely believed to have been invented by General Abacha to imprison his political enemies,” the BBC reported. Obasanjo was released by the current military leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, after Abacha’s death.