Tribune: A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed an application seeking to stop the swearing-in of the President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.
Delivering a bench-ruling on an ex-parte motion brought by a civil society organisation, Incorporated Trustees of Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative, the trial Judge, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed described the application as “self-induced urgency”, owing to the plaintiff’s failure to challenge Buhari’s emergence as president-elect after two months of the presidential election.
He said, “In law, an ex-parte application seeking an order of injunction pre-supposes the existence of a real case of urgency not self-induced urgency.
“Motion ex-parte dated and filed on May 26, 2015 is a clear case of self-induced urgency and this court is therefore of the view that the plaintiff applicant’s motion is devoid of any merit and the same is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Mohammed declared.
He adjourned the suit till June 26, 2015 for further mention and further ordered the applicant to serve all originating processes and hearing notice on the defendants.
It will be recalled that the applicant, the Incorporated Trustees of Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative had applied to the court to stop the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed from swearing the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari as president on May 29.
The group said Buhari did not meet the qualification enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act to have contested the position of the president of Nigeria at the 2015 general election.
Chief Lateef Fagbemi, leading two other Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Akin Olujimi and Kola Awodein announced memorandum of conditional appearance for Buhari in the suit, which has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the CJN as the first, second and third respondents, respectively.
The group, in the originating summons attached to the suit asked the court to declare that the information contained in the Buhari’s Form C.F.001 stating that his educational qualification is the West African School Leaving Certificate (WASC) and that same is with the Secretary to the Military Board amounts to false information.
It also asked the court to hold that the information contained in Buhari’s Affidavit deposed to November 24, 2014, stating that his West African School Leaving Certificate (WASC) is with the Secretary to the Military Board amounts to False Information.
