Court Orders Alternative In Buhari Disqualification Suit

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered an alternative service of the processes in a suit filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Chike Okafor, seeking the disqualification of the presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, over controversy trailing his certificate.

The plaintiff had alleged that Buhari and other defendants were evading service of the processes in the suit, and urged the court to grant alternative means of service.
Justice Ademola, after entertaining the submission, ordered that Buhari and his party should be served through a publication in a national newspaper. The matter was subsequently adjourned to February 9 for report of service.

In an originating summon before the court, Okafor is asking the court to disqualify Buhari from contesting the 2015 presidential elections.

According to the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2015, the plaintiff listed Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the three respondents respectively.

The plaintiff is specifically contending that Buhari failed to prove that he has the minimum educational qualification to run for president, and that the APC candidate’s West African School Certificate (WASC) was false.

He said Buhari not only did not attach his purported certificates to his nomination form as compulsorily required, but his claim that the certificates were in the custody of the military was denied by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Olajide Laleye.

The plaintiff formulated one question for the court’s determination, which is “Whether the information given by Buhari in the prescribed forms and submitted to INEC for the 2015 presidential election does not contain falsehood?”

If yes, Okafor equally asked whether Buhari should not, therefore, be disqualified from the said election.