By Deborah Onyofufeke
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, of the Federal High Court Abuja, dismissed a bid by a factional group in the Action Alliance (AA) party to halt the certificate forgery suit instituted against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The group which was led by Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje had bided to be included in the suit and was consequently rejected by the Court from being joined as an interested party to defend Tinubu in the certificate forgery suit brought against him by the AA party.
Justice Egwuatu, in a ruling on the joinder application of Omo-Aje and his faction, thrown out the request, on the grounds that conditions precedent for such joinder to be granted, were not placed before the court.
He added that besides, the group has been unable to establish how their interests are likely to be affected and until they are able to do so, their joinder request remains a meddlesome interloper and busybody.
The court also held that Omo-Aje did not establish his claim as National Chairman of the AA and also did not disclose how his interest would be jeopardized if not joined as a defendant in the suit.
In the ruling, Justice Egwuatu said both Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and Ambassador Suleiman Abdumalik who filed the joinder application on behalf of their faction failed to satisfy the conditions on why they should be joined.
Besides, the Judge held that they also failed to make a case in any form, to sway the court to join them.
The factional group had in the joinder application sought for dismissal of the suit against APC and Tinubu on the ground that they (as officers of the party) did not authorize the suit to be filed in the name or on behalf of the party.
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The Judge thereafter ordered the plaintiff (AA) to open its case of certificate forgery allegations against Tinubu on Friday, November 4, 2022.
Justice Egwuatu specifically ordered that witnesses in the suit must be brought before the court to enable it determine the suit within the time stipulated by law.
Action Alliance Party in the suit is seeking the disqualification of Tinubu from the 2023 election on alleged certificate Forgery.
The party had on June 21, asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from including the name of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ballot of the 2023 presidential election.
The party in the Writ of Summon marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/954/2022, predicated its request on the claim that both the APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu are not qualified to participate in the 2023 presidential election on alleged forgery committed by Tinubu in 1999.
The suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff by its lawyer, Mr Upkai Ukairo, claimed that Tinubu forged the university of Chicago certificate he submitted in 1999 in aid of his qualification for the 1999 governorship election in Lagos State, which was won by Tinubu.
The suit, dated and filed on June 21, has the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Bola Tinubu as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
