A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 7 to hear a suit seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, from contesting in the 2023 elections.
The Vacation judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed fixed hearing after he granted an ex-parte order for substituted service on Tinubu who had invaded personal service of Court processes.
The Plaintiffs are praying the Court for an order disqualifying Tinubu from contesting or participating in the forthcoming 2023 Presidential general election as a candidate of the APC based on the information he supplied to the Independent National Electoral Commission as presidential candidate of party.
The plaintiffs who are four chieftains of the APC; Memuna Suleiman, Mohammed Garba, Ofodu Anthony and Ibiang Miko Ibiang jointly instituted the action against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
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Other defendants are the APC, the National Assembly and the Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants.
Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Chief Goddy Uche had told the vacation judge that the substituted service was necessary because all attempts to serve the 3rd defendant had proved abortive as he cannot be reached.
In a 33-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by one Ibiang Miko Ibiang, the plaintiffs averred that Tinubu falsely swore to an affidavit in 1999 in which he claimed to have attended St Paul Aroloya Children Home School, Ibadan -1958-64, and Government College, Ibadan -1965-68 and presented the same to INEC.
According to the plaintiffs, the deposition is untrue. They claimed in his INEC form for the 2023 elections, Tinubu refused to include any information about his primary and secondary schools to hide the false information he had provided to INEC.
In a brief ruling Justice Mohammed ordered that the Court process be served on the National Secretariat of the APC and that such service should be deemed as having been properly served on the 3rd defendant Tinubu, the APC Presidential candidate.
