Two of the three cases in court, challenging the candidacy of Nigeria’s President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to contest in the presidential election has been struck out.
The cases were struck out by the presiding judge Justice Adeniyi Ademola at an Abuja Federal High Court, after the plaintiffs indicated their intention to withdraw the suits on Wednesday.
According to Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) a counsel to one of the plaintiffs, the suit was withdrawn by his client so as to afford the incoming government the time to focus on the enormous task of governance.
Also Dr. Chike Amobi, counsel to Max Ozoaka, the second plaintiff, withdrew his client’s suit against the president-elect, stating the same reason.
With the two cases out, the only pending eligibility suit against Buhari is the one filed by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15).
No date has been fixed for the hearing in the pending suit.
The defendant, Buhari contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was on 1st April declared winner of the election, defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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.
The plaintiffs had taken Buhari to court over his failure to submit his secondary school leaving certificate. They had argued that it contravened provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
