Application To Stop Tinubu’s Certificate Forgery Suit Suffers Setback

An application by a factional group in the Action Alliance to stop the certificate forgery suit instituted against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was on Monday dismissed by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The bid by the group loyal to Tinubu and led by Adekunle Omo-Aje was 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 Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling on the joinder application of Omo-Aje and his faction, threw out the request on the grounds that conditions precedent for such joinder to be granted were not placed before the court.

Amongst others, Justice Egwuatu 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 jeopardised if not joined as defendant in the suit.

Justice Egwuatu, while dismissing the joinder request, held that the group remains meddlesome interloper and busy body until their interests likely to be affected are clearly established.

In the ruling, Justice Egwuatu said that both Adekunle 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 out 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 the APC and Tinubu on the ground that they (as officers of the party) did not authorise the suit to be filed in the name or on behalf of the party.

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 time stipulated by law.

The Action Alliance Party in the suit is seeking 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 from including the name of the All Progressives Congress 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 his 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, had the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC and Senator Bola Tinubu as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.