Road To 2015: Court Orders Service In General Buhari's Fresh Disqualification Suit

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the service of court papers on the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in a fresh suit seeking an order disqualifying him from participating in the February 14 poll.

Already, there is a pending direct criminal complaint against Buhari before a Federal Capital Territory Magistrate’s Court in Abuja asking the court to direct that the former Head of State “be brought to book” for allegedly claiming on oath that he had a certificate he did not obtain.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who is presiding over the fresh suit, on Monday made an order of substituted service on Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission. Buhari and INEC are the two defendants in the suit.

The court has fixed February 9 for the hearing of the suit.

The plaintiff, Max Ozoaka, wants the court to disqualify Buhari from participating in the election for failing to accompany his form submitted to INEC with all relevant academic credentials.

He contended that the INEC FORM CF 001 submitted to INEC by the APC candidate was incomplete and therefore urged the court to declare the form as “incompetent some being inchoate and not in conformity with the form prescribed under the Electoral Act.”

He further stated that alleged failure of Buhari to accompany the INEC Form with evidence of his educational qualifications and evidence of his birth certificate or affidavit of declaration of age had altogether rendered the form inchoate.

Ozoaka, in a supporting affidavit to the originating summons, stated that the INEC Form submitted by Buhari did not meet the requirements under sections 31(1)(2) & (3), and 31(8) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).