Nigerian courts deepened the confusion surrounding this month's elections on Tuesday by delivering two apparently conflicting judgements on whether Vice President Atiku Abubakar can run for president.
The Court of Appeal ruled in the morning that the electoral body had powers to exclude candidates without reference to the courts, dealing an apparently terminal blow to Abubakar's presidential ambitions in this month's elections.
But the Federal High Court - a lower court - in the afternoon ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include Abubakar's name on the list of candidates for the April 21 vote.
INEC had excluded Abubakar, who is trying to run as the candidate of opposition party Action Congress, because of an indictment for fraud which he has challenged in another lawsuit.
"INEC and the government are hell-bent on stopping Abubakar, so if the Appeal Court says they can, they will take that judgement and disregard the High Court." INEC's lawyer Joe Gadzama said the electoral body would certainly appeal the High Court's ruling in favour of Abubakar, adding that the commission wanted to "marry" the two decisions.
Abubakar has argued the fraud indictment was politically motivated and amounts to an attack on democracy ahead of the vote, which should mark the first transition from one elected leader to another since independence from Britain in 1960.
Had he been allowed to run, analysts ranked Abubakar as one of three front-runners to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo, who must step down after eight years in power. With presidential polls only 18 days away, analysts said time was running out for Abubakar.
"As long as that indictment remains in existence, the vice president remains disqualified. INEC has the powers to ensure that those who are not qualified to run for election do not stand," said Lagos lawyer Olalekan Ojo, adding that INEC's appeal against the high court judgement would probably be upheld.
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