Monday, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja
with an application seeking a declaration that the
presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress,
Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), lacked the
educational qualification to stand for the February 14
presidential election.
The originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/
CS/01/2015 has Buhari, APC and the Independent
National Electoral Commission as the first, second and
third defendants respectively.
The suit was filed pursuant to Section 131 of the
Constitution, which prescribes a minimum
qualification for nomination to participate in the
presidential election and Section 31 of the Electoral
Act that requires all presidential candidates to depose
to an affidavit that they have satisfied and complied
with the constitutional requirements to be President
of Nigeria.
Okafor, in the suit filed through his counsel, Chief Ugo
Ugunnadi, is contending that Buhari's form CF001 with
the INEC, wherein he stated that he obtained the
minimum educational qualification of West African
Senior School Certificate could not be valid as the said
certificate was allegedly false or not genuine.
The plaintiff, among other things, is asking the court to
declare that "the information contained in Buhari's
affidavit dated November 24, 2014, stating that the
Secretary of the Military Board was in custody of his
WASSC was false and thereby disqualified him from
contesting the 2015 general elections."
The lawyer is therefore seeking an order of the court
"compelling INEC to withdraw, remove and/or delete
the names of the 1st and 2nd defendants from the list
of persons or political parties eligible to contest for the
Office of the President of Nigeria in the 2015 general
elections."
The courts reopened today after being shut down for
three weeks by the striking judicial workers in the
country.
No date has yet been fixed to hear Okafor's originating
summons.
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