Nigeria Court Hears Sick President Yar’Adua’s Cases. (BBC)
A number of cases have be brought before Nigerian courts against the sick president and judges will today hear three cases that have been brought before them. The cases are aimed at clarifying who rules the nation in the absence of the president who is still undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia. The president has been away since November last year.
The judges will have the task of deciding whether or not actions taken since the president’s absence legally holds. The opposition has criticized the government as to why the president has not handed over power to the vice president and is seeking to find out the legality of his actions. An earlier ruling on Wednesday claimed the government did no wrong in not transferring power since the constitution did not make any provisions for such a transfer. Wednesday’s ruling did not go down well with one human rights lawyer Mr. Falana who also has a case against the president said the ruling was “meaningless”. Mr. Falana is asking the court to nullify all actions taken by the cabinet during the president’s absence. Another case from the Nigerian Bar Association is demanding that power be transferred formally to the vice president. The third case is from a human rights group and they want the president declared missing.