2023: Bid Seeking To Stop Tinubu's Certificate Forgery Suit Dismissed By Court

The bid by a factional group in the Action Alliance (AA) party to stop the certificate forgery suit instituted against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu was dismissed by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.

The court rejected the bid by the group loyal to Tinubu and led by Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje from being joined as an interested party to defend the former governor in the forgery suit.

While giving his ruling, Justice Obiora Egwuatu threw out the request on the grounds that conditions precedent for such a joinder to be granted were not placed before the court.

The judge held that Omo-Aje did not establish his claim as National Chairman of the AA and also did not reveal how his interest would be jeopardized if not joined as a defendant in the suit.

Egwuatu stated that the group remains a meddlesome interloper and busybody until their interests likely to be affected are clearly established.

In his ruling, he said that Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and Ambassador Suleiman Abdumalik who filed the joinder application on behalf of their faction did not satisfy the conditions on why they should be joined.

Furthermore, Justice Egwuatu held that they also failed to make a case in any form and to sway the court to join them.

The factional group had in the rejoinder requested the dismissal of the suit against APC and Tinubu on the ground that they (as officers of the party) did not authorize the suit to be filed in the name or on behalf of the party.

The plaintiff (AA) was subsequently ordered by the judge to open its case of certificate forgery allegations against Tinubu on Friday, November 4, 2022.

The witnesses in the suit were instructed by Justice Egwuatu to be brought before the court for it to determine the suit within the time stipulated by law.

The Action Alliance Party wants Tinubu disqualified from the 2023 presidential election over alleged certificate forgery.

The court had been asked by the party on June 21 to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from including APC as a party in the forthcoming presidential election.