Appeal Court to determine case against President
Buhari filled APCP as party in INEC form – Plaintiff
At separate courts, President Goodluck Jonathan and All Progressives Congress, APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday began legal battles in suits challenging their eligibility for the March 28, 2011 presidential elections.
While Buhari has two cases filed against him by two practitioners, Mr. Max Ozoaka and Mr. Chukwunweike Okafor, Jonathan has three suits seeking the same prayer before the Federal High Court.
In the case against the President’s eligibility for re-election before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the judge yesterday referred it to the Court of Appeal in Abuja for determination.
With the verdict, there are now two cases pending before the appellate court challenging Jonathan’s eligibility to seek another term in office.
Justice Mohammed gave the referral order following an application filed on November 28, 2014 by Adejumo Ajagbe and Olatoye Wahab, the plaintiffs in the suit.
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, a defendant in the suit, however opposed the application for referral while the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the second defendant did not oppose the application.
The court had hardly started hearing the substantive case when the plaintiffs asked it to refer the matter to the Appeal Court on the grounds that the suit involved a substantial “question of law” which only the superior court can make pronouncement on.
One of the cases against the President at the Appeal Court is filed by Cyriacus Njoku, challenging the ruling of Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the Federal High Court, Abuja that Jonathan is eligible to stand for re-election.
At the mention of the cases against Buhari yesterday, an array of renowned lawyers appeared for both the defendants and the plaintiffs.
Ozoaka specifically asked Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja to disqualify Buhari from the presidential race because a copy of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Form FC001 he filled showed that he entered the name of his political party as All Progressive Congress Party, APCP, a non-existing party instead of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He also prayed the court to disqualify Buhari because the Permanent Voter Card, PVC issued to him by INEC revealed that his occupation was listed as civil servant which, according to the plaintiff, is false as he ceased to be a public officer since his retirement from the Nigerian Army.
At the proceedings, Buhari’s legal team was led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN; Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN; Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN; Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN; James Ocholi SAN; Funke Aboyede, SAN and Chief Femi Falana, SAN, while Chief Ade Okeaya Ineh, SAN; Chief Godwin Obla, SAN and Ken Njamanze, SAN appeared for the plaintiff.
There were also Mr. Ajayi Olowo, Abdulhameed Mohammed and Mohammed Ibrahim who brought applications from their clients seeking to be joined as defendants in the suit.
Olanipekun told the court that in view of the addendum published by the plaintiff in the newspapers in compliance with the orders of the court on substituted service of the court’s processes, that time started counting for the defence team last Friday and that they are within the time to file their processes before the court.
He told the court that Buhari is challenging the competence of the entire suit and the court’s order for substituted service which gave rise to the publications.
“We are here in protest. We only came to court for two reasons: Our client, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has utmost respect for this court and we, as officers in the temple of justice, have a duty to come here and offer assistance to this court. We are filing our processes at the court’s registry and we are challenging the legality of this court’s orders as well as the competence of the suit.
The case is not even “ripe for mention as it is,” Olanipekun said.

Ozoaka wants Buhari disqualified on the grounds of non-compliance with the constitutional requirements for candidates’ eligibility to contest for the presidential election.
Nigerian Pilot recalls that the controversies surrounding the alleged non-inclusion of Buhari’s certificate in the forms submitted to INEC, had given rise to a series of cases seeking his disqualification from the presidential election.
Ozoaka also averred that Buhari should be disqualified from the race on the ground that the party under on whose platform he claims to be running for the Presidency is not a registered political party in Nigeria.
A copy of the Buhari’s INEC Form FC001 shows that he entered the name of his party as All Progressive Congress Party, APCP, instead of All Progressives Congress, APC.
Another ground he is seeking Buhari’s disqualification is that the permanent voter card issued to him by INEC showed that the APC’s candidate’s occupation was listed as civil servant which, according to the plaintiff, was false as the retired General ceased to be a public officer since his retirement from service.
Ozoaka also wants Buhari disqualified for allegedly lying under oath following claims he made in his INEC forms that his secondary school certificate is with the military authorities which claims have been denied by the Nigerian Army.
Another suit filed by one Mr. Chukwunweike Okafor, praying for Buhari’s disqualification was also heard yesterday by Justice Ademola, who adjourned both cases to Monday, February 23, 2015 for hearing of applications for joinders filed in the suits.
INEC’s legal team comprised Mr. Adebgoyega Awomolo, SAN (who led INEC’s Chief Legal Consultant), Hassan Liman, SAN, Mrs. Victoria Awomolo, SAN among many others.
When the case was mentioned,
Obla said that his client had complied with an ex-parte order of the court dated February 2, 2015 to serve Buhari with court processes via newspaper publications.
He said that the second defendant, INEC, had responded and that he also received two fresh applications from parties seeking to be joined in the suit.
Obla said that he was not opposed to the joinder applications, adding that he needed a short adjournment to enable him reply to all the processes he received.
Also, INEC’s counsel, Awomolo sought for time to enable his client to file a memorandum for conditional appearance, having filed and served all parties with his counter-affidavit.
Justice Ademola fixed February 23 to enable the court to take all pending applications and hear the case.
The judge had earlier in the day fixed the same date to hear another suit challenging Buhari’s eligibility filed by Okafor.
Ozoaka (plaintiff in the first case), in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/14/2015, via an originating summons, is also seeking an order restraining the INEC from permitting Buhari to run for presidency in 2015.
The plaintiff is also wants a declaration that by the combined provisions of Sections 31(1)(2) and (3) of the 2010 Electoral Act and INEC Form CF 001, Buhari is mandatorily obliged to strictly comply with their provisions.
This, he argued, had to do with Buhari’s filing and submission of INEC Form CF 001, without attaching evidence of educational qualification as required, which was an offence under Section 31 of the Act.
The plaintiff, therefore, prayed the court to declare that Buhari is not eligible to participate in the 2015 presidential election for failure to comply with the terms for submission of list of candidates for the election.
The presidential election has been shifted to March 28 by INEC

Source: http://nigerianpilot.com/eligibility-suit-jonathan-buhari-legal-battles-begin/

This is NPW(Nigeria Presidential Wrestlemania). We have GMB in the ring already weighing 220pounds, fans chanting...G....M....B, G....M....B! And let's welcome GEJ also weighing 236pounds, fans chanting G....E....J, G....E....J! As we all know in this same ring, GMB has being serially dealt with by OBJ in 2003, UMY in 2007 & was smacked outta the polling ring in 2011 by GEJ. We don't know if history will repeat itself again, but let's watch and see how far GMB can go dis tym around or may be should I say he's addicted to losing??..I don't know. Let the polling ring decide..


GHEN! GHEN!! GHEN!! Action..

Double wahala for deadi body... #buhari.

Hmmm...oro sunukun leyi ooo...oju kilaafiwo bai?

Biko Which one Is APCP?
Hehehehe walai we don't knw dat party in Nigeria

Good moves!
May the cases drrrrrrrrrag on for 4 years!!!!
GEJ for 2019 too!!!!!

make sense