acenazt:
where exactly in kaduna na una type dey add fuel to inferno.

omolami:
All hail our Hero; Jonathan who continue to save nigerians from bloodshead. If d court had pronounced buhari guilty the same faith that Jonathan avoided by conceding defeat could have played out again. It is fact that APC supporters are Almajiris, urchins and buchers looking for who to kill. Jonathan is noble and peaceful he went further by withdrawing the suit. What a great mind and a hero of our time. God bless Jonathan and family.

brownlord:


You just need to wonder the kind of people we have in this part of he world, from the onset, the buharist have always kicked against anyone asking buhari to speak up on this issue or have him provide the original certificate just to clear the air.

They resort to some senseless rant about buhari rising to become a general, attending war college and all nonsense.

If i use a fake certificate to gain admission into the university, the fact that i completed the programme without the school noticing this suddenly makes my forged certificate, the admission and degree i later obtain valid.

Smh

BecaciaBarbie:
Sai Baba!!!!!

In Chapter VIII, Part VI of the 1999 Constitution, Section 318 (1) gave a lucid interpretation to what the constitution meant by “School Certificate or its equivalent” thus:

“School Certificate or its equivalent” means-

(a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or

(b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and -

(i) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and

(ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year, and

(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and

(d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

In essence, constitutionally, a presidential contestant is eligible even if the only educational qualification he/she possesses is a mere “Primary Six School Leaving Certificate” or “the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language” or “service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to INEC for a minimum of ten years” or “attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the INEC for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year.”

This is the present position of the law. Nigerians are however free to propose its amendment if there is a general believe that we need to increase qualification standard for would be presidential aspirants in Nigeria.

sammyj:
They would have gone ahead chasing wild goose, jobless people sponsored by the opposition party !!!!

shoprite:


. . .u mean PDP right?

omolami:
All hail our Hero; Jonathan who continue to save nigerians from bloodshead. If d court had pronounced buhari guilty the same faith that Jonathan avoided by conceding defeat could have played out again. It is fact that APC supporters are Almajiris, urchins and buchers looking for who to kill. Jonathan is noble and peaceful he went further by withdrawing the suit. What a great mind and a hero of our time. God bless Jonathan and family.

Ipledge:
My

BecaciaBarbie:

Hey love!

Ipledge:
How are u today,long time...missed you

superior1:


And by this, you admitted it was Jonathan that instigated these ridiculous cases, indirectly of course

brownlord:


My friend keep mute, our judicial system is useless, like i said yesterday, even as buhari critics i will protest if the court had given any silly judgement against Buhari, the fact that the court could not give that judgement on a case challenging his eligibility and postpone it till after election for which the purpose of that case was to determine if the accused was qualified or not to run for election, their whatever judgement at this time is just useless.

The law was bend to entertain him so we must live with it for the next 4 years, that is if we will be given the chance to use the ballot.

modath:
Plaintiff withdraws suit.



http://www.punchng.com/news/plaintiffs-withdraw-eligibility-suit-against-buhari/

Plaintiffs in the two of the three pending suits challenging the eligibility of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to contest in the March 28, 2015, presidential election have been withdrawn.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola who is presiding over the matters at the Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently struck out the matter after the plaintiffs indicated their intention to withdraw the suits on Wednesday.

Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) who is representing one of the plaintiffs, told the judge on Wednesday 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, his lawyer, Dr. Chike Amobi, also adduced similar grounds for withdrawing the suit.

With the Wednesday’s development, the remaining pending eligibility suit against Buhari is the one filed by Ayakeme Whiskey (FHC/ABJ/CS/68/15).

As of the time of filing this story, 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.

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 claim 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.

PhockPhockMan:
Why won't they withdraw from the case when they've been promised contracts and political posts?

Na naija we dey.
.

sethken:


Here comes a law suit stating that GMB lied under oath. What are the merits of the law suit?

In uncovering the merits of such a law suit, a court will apply a standard of review. Given the circumstance, the test a court will apply will be that of reasonable person. Will a reasonable person under the circumstance agree with the petitioners/plaintiff, that GMB lied under oath? The answer will always be no. Why?

(1) The Plaintiffs appear to be younger than GMB.
(2) The Plaintiffs were not students or officials of the said school GMB attended in 1960 or thereabouts
(3) No living person who claimed to have attended the said school in 1960 has come forward to refute GMB's affidavit.
(4) No group of persons from the graduating class of 1960, with certified WASC from 1960 have come forward to state that GMB was not part of the graduating class of 1960.
(5) None of the plaintiffs graduated from the said school in 1960.

Under the reasonable persons standard as applied by courts everywhere, the burden is on the petitioners/plaintiff to prove that GMB lied under oath. GMB followed the law . He swore and submitted an affidavit. The petitioners cannot carry their burden by only making conclusory statements. To carry their burden, they must submit to the court any credible document countering GMB's affidavit; or any credible person or persons, who will counter GMB's affidavit.

In addition, there is no evidence of a smoking gun- such as a letter from the principle of the school dating back to 1960, stating that GMB was not a student of the school, or that GMB did not sit for WASC or GMB did not complete his secondary education.

The petitioners suit in this case will be analogous to a frivolous law suit filed by any Nigerian who is upset that GMB tendered an affidavit rather than a certified copy of his WASC from London. One must have evidence that GMB lied under oath. It is not enough to state that GMB lied, such is a conclusory statement. A conclusory statement must be backed by facts to survive a thorough legal scrutiny. Without facts, a conclusory statement falls apart like a pack of cards.

Buhari is not required by Nigeria law to retrieve a certified copy of his certificate from the body that conducted the exam and submit same to the Nigerian public. It is up to GMB do so if he so chooses. Until the constitution is amended, GMB followed every letter of the law.

PDP lawyers to party: you can’t stop Buhari in court

January 21, 2015

...The PDP leadership and some Presidency officials sought legal advice on how to get Gen. Buhari disqualified, a source told The Nation, pleading not to be named because of what he described as the “sensitivity” of the matter.

But they were shocked to learn that it was all a wild goose chase.

The legal advice made available to the party indicated that Gen. Buhari cannot be stopped because Section 318 of the 1999 says any candidate can contest for elective office with a minimum of school certificate or its equivalent.

The section also does not say a candidate must pass or fail the school certificate examination or its equivalent, which could be a primary school certificate or the ability to read or write in English.

Also, if a candidate has served in the public sector for up to 10 years, this could be the equivalent of a school certificate.

A highly-placed source said: “The legal advice sought by PDP has confirmed that even if the party goes to court, it cannot stop Buhari. The party is in a state of confusion because it has to face the electoral battle with APC.

The 1999 Constitution is explicit in its interpretation of Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution by Section 318.

Section 131 states: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty (40) years; (c )he is a member of a political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

“In Section 318, School certificate or equivalent means (a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or (b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

“(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and (i) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for a minimum of 10 years; and

“(ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and

“(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); and

“(d) Any other qualification acceptable by INEC.”

Another source said the PDP has realized its folly because it did not seek legal opinion before raising false alarms that Gen. Buhari is unqualified to contest.

The source added: “The PDP leaders have realised that all their alarms over Gen. Buhari’s certificate amounted to nothing.

“Out of shame, they have decided to keep their findings under wraps.”

omolami:
All hail our Hero; Jonathan who continue to save nigerians from bloodshead. If d court had pronounced buhari guilty the same faith that Jonathan avoided by conceding defeat could have played out again. It is fact that APC supporters are Almajiris, urchins and buchers looking for who to kill. Jonathan is noble and peaceful he went further by withdrawing the suit. What a great mind and a hero of our time. God bless Jonathan and family.