Certificate SAGA - Buhari To Know His Fate On Joinder Application Today

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal High Court in Abuja will today deliver ruling in a motion for joinder brought by two persons, Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa and Chukwuma Ochu.

The applicants in the motion are seeking to be joined in the suit challenging the academic qualification of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).

A lawyer, Mr Chika Okafor, had dragged Buhari to court seeking to disqualify him from participating in the March 28 presidential election over alleged certificate forgery and perjury.

Buhari’s party, APC, joined the suit as a co-defendant after it was filed. Buhari challenged the mode of service of court papers on him and also the order to abridge time.

The court had earlier fixed yesterday for the ruling on abridgement of time and mode of service of the process on Buhari.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Adegboruwa informed the court over the joinder application.

Chukwuma Ochu, who is also seeking to be joined, argued that Buhari is his candidate in the forthcoming election.

He further submitted that if Buhari is disqualified, he would be disenfranchised.

Lawyer to the plaintiff, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) urged the court to reject the application for joinder on the grounds that the applicants are meddlesome, interlopers and busybodies.

After listening to the submissions of all parties, the trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, adjourned till today for ruling.

Mr Chukwunweike Okafor, one of the plaintiffs in the seven suits now consolidated, is seeking an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify Buhari from contesting the March 28 polls.

Okafor is urging the court to hold that Buhari’s claim in his Form CF001 that his West African School Certificate was with the Nigerian Army is false, thereby disqualifying him from contesting the election.

He, therefore, prayed the court to give an order compelling INEC to remove Buhari’s name and that of the APC from the list of persons and political parties eligible to contest the office of President of Nigeria.

Okafor had joined Buhari, the APC and INEC as co-defendants in the suit. (Leadership)