Musings on Unending Buhari Certificate Saga- Yemi Adebowale

Legal fireworks in the ongoing court case over President Muhammadu Buhari’s school certificate are throwing up so many intrigues and embarrassing questions. In the suit, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe had alleged that Buhari was not qualified to aspire to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because “he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as claimed.” Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on May 26, 2016 dismissed Buhari’s preliminary objection in the suit that has been on for over one year. He ordered the commencement of the substantive suit. Buhari’s legal team is now challenging the dismissed objections at the Court of Appeal. Surprisingly, Justice Ademola has suspended the substantive suit indefinitely pending the outcome of the appeal.

Before the 2015 general election, our president’s legal team stalled the case with funny preliminary objections. In one instance, the team challenged the mode of service of the originating summons, insisting that Buhari 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. The fact that this case has dragged on for this long with funny preliminary objections is reprehensible. Besides, if this is happening with a case involving our president, then, this administration has no moral right accusing anybody of using delay tactics in court or manipulating our judicial system. Buhari’s legal team of about 20 powerful SANs has been making a mockery of our judicial system. The earlier the substantive suit is tackled, the better for Nigeria.