Buhari Escapes Disqualification As Court Adjourns Eligibility Suit To April 22

Justice Adeniyi Ademola Wednesday morning put paid to speculations
that the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari might be disqualified from participating in
Saturday's election when he adjourned hearing in the 10 separate suits
seeking to bar the APC candidate till April 22 and 23, about a month
after the presidential election.

Justice Adeniyi however dismissed the applications filed by two human
right activists, Mr. Chukwuma Ochu who is a member of the APC in
Rivers State, and Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa from Lagos state seeking to
be joined as defendants in the suit.

The APC had last week alleged a plot by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
to use the courts to find its presidential candidate guilty of perjury
and disqualify him from participating in Saturday's poll.

In a ruling yesterday, Justice Adeniyi said he would hear the
substantive suits and all the preliminary objectons that were raised
against them by both Buhari and the APC together.

All the pending applications were consolidated for hearing on a day
two human right activists, Mr. Chukwuma Ochu who is a member of the
APC in Rivers State, and Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa from Lagos state,
applied to be joined as interested parties in the matter.

The court noted that since all the suits were basically anchored on
the same subject matter, which is the eligibility or otherwise of
Buhari to contest in the forthcoming presidential election having
allegedly supplied false information to the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, with regards to his educational
qualifications, it would be better to slate all of the matters for
hearing on the same day.
--Vanguard