Buhari's Certificate Saga Resurfaces

The trial on President Muhamadu Buhari's eligibility to be President of Nigeria following his alleged non-possession of a senior school certificate is on.

THIS DAY reports that Buhari has appealed the ruling of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja who on May 26, 2016 dismissed his preliminary objection in a suit filed by an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr. Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe.

In February 2015, Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe filed a suit challenging the competence of Buhari to stand election into the office of president of Nigeria when he lacks the basic educational qualifications set out in the Constitution. He prayed the court to among others declare that Buhari is unqualified to aspire to the position of president because he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC), in 1961 as he claimed.

When the suit came up on May 26, Buhari in his preliminary objection challenged the mode of service of the originating summons on him. He insisted that he ought to have been served at an address in Kaduna instead of by substituted means at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

In his ruling, Justice Ademola upheld the service of the originating court processes on Buhari, saying the court processes of serving him was proper.

Meanwhile, checks at the registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja showed that the plaintiff has filed an application to amend his originating summons to include prayers for the nullification of the election of Buhari. He also wants to add prayers for the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Buhari and issue a fresh one to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who came second in the 2015 presidential election.