Judiciary
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General Muhammadu Buhari wins the case instituted against at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging his eligibility to contest the presidential race because the plaintiffs withdrew their cases against him to enable him concentrate in forming his new government
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Apr 22, 2015 @ 17:05 GMT |
A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out two of three suits challenging the eligibility of Muhammadu Buhari, President-elect, to contest in the March 28 presidential elections. Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who is presiding over the matters, struck out the cases after the plaintiffs indicated their intention to withdraw the suits on Wednesday, April 22.
Mike Ozekhome, counsel to one of the plaintiffs, told the judge that his client decided to withdraw his suit to afford the incoming government time to focus on the enormous task of governance. When the second case which was filed by Max Ozoaka was called, Chike Amobi, his lawyer, also adduced similar grounds for withdrawing the suit.
The plaintiffs had filed the suits challenging Buhari’s eligibility, asking the court to declare him ineligible to contest in the election on the basis of his alleged failure to submit his certificate of academic qualifications along with his Form CF001 to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The plaintiffs claimed that Buhari’s failure to submit his certificate of academic qualifications contravened provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
With this development, the remaining pending eligibility suit against Buhari is the one filed by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15). For now no date has been fixed for the hearing in the pending suit. Buhari, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, was on April 1 declared winner of the election, defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party. He will be sworn in on May 29.
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