Nigerian court reopens Yar'dua election case

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In a surprise move, Nigeria's Supreme Court has agreed to re-open a case challenging the 2007 election of President Umaru Yar'Adua, court papers seen by reporters on Saturday showed.

The top court Friday ruled unanimously that a lower court, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, should re-hear a case brought by Ambrose Owuru, the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, a small political grouping.

 

Owuru's lawsuit, seeking the annulment of the 2007 presidential election, had been dismissed by the lower court in August of that year.

 

Domestic and foreign observers, including a team from the European Union, were unanimous in finding the 2007 polls - presidential, legislative and gubernatorial - were marred by widespread fraud.

 

The re-opening comes just over three months after the Supreme Court dismissed a more high-profile case brought by two other opposition candidates against Yar'Adua's election.

 

On that occasion the court upheld the election whilst acknowledging that "all had not been well" in the poll.

 

The suit dismissed in December was brought by former vice president Atiku Abubakar and former military head of state Muhammadu Buhari.