A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned till
April 22 and 23, all the suits challenging the eligibility of the presidential
candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to
contest in the March 28 poll.
By implication, the court will not make any judicial
pronouncement on Buhari’s eligibility till after the March 28 and
April 11 elections.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, after fixing the new dates for the
suits, explained that his decision was informed by the court’s impending Easter
holiday and the judges’ conference that would follow.
The judge fixed the new dates without entertaining
suggestions from lawyers to the parties.
The plaintiffs in all the suits want the court to declare
Buhari ineligible to contest in the presidential election on the basis of his
alleged failure to submit his school certificate along with his
Form CF001 to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The plaintiffs claim that Buhari’s failure to submit the
certificate contravenes provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999
Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
With three of the suits earlier struck out on Tuesday,
there are now three challenging Buhari’s eligibility.
The judge fixed the new dates for the cases after he
dismissed separate applications by two persons – Chukwuma Ochu and Ebun
Olu-Adegboruwa – seeking to be joined as defendants in one of the
suits.
The judge described the intending parties as “busybodies
and meddlesome interlopers.”
The particular suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/01/15, in which the judge
ruled on Wednesday was filed by Chukwunweike Okafor.
But Justice Ademola said the ruling on both the intending
parties’ applications to join the suit and the adjournment would bind other
pending suits challenging Buhari’s eligibility that are pending in his court.
Buhari, APC and INEC are the defendants in the suit and the
other pending cases.
Okafor was represented by his lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome
(SAN) while Akin Olujinmi (SAN) represented Buhari.
Sikiru Adewoye represented the APC and Hassan
Liman, INEC.
The court had on Tuesday struck out three of such suits.
one of them was filed by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15); and
the others by Friday Ojelaro (FHC/ABJ/CS/20/15 and FHC/ABJ/CS/3/2015).
The three suits were struck out because they were mere
replica of one another and the remaining pending suits.
Justice Ademola ruled on Wednesday that he would hear the
main suits together with the preliminary applications filed by the defendants
on the next adjourned date.
