APC asks court to join suits seeking Buhari’s disqualification

The All Progressives Congress on Thursday asked a Federal High
Court, Abuja, to consolidate all applications seeking to disqualify
President Muhammadu Buhari for alleged false information contained
in form CF 001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral
Commission for the 2019 election.

When the matter came up, counsel for the APC, Gani Arobo, told
the court that there were similar cases before other courts and
asked for all to be consolidated.

Arobo contended that in such a situation, all the cases had to
be brought together to be heard by one judge.

But the presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, said he had no
such power to ask for files from other judges.

He advised Arobo to write the Chief Judge of Federal High Court
to cause the action.

However, counsel for the plaintiffs, Godwin Haruna, opposed the
moves, arguing that it was a delay tactics.

Haruna submitted that the case was adjourned till Thursday for
hearing, which should be done.

He said there was no evidence before the court that there were
other suits seeking the same reliefs of the instance case before
other courts.

“In the circumstance, we ask for a short date for the second
defendant to bring before this court all pending applications and
other suits seeking same reliefs as this case, to guide this
court.”

Justice Mohammed said it was not in the interest of anybody for
the case to go on, warning that if the case was handled improperly,
it would be the judiciary that would be ridiculed.

Mohammed held that the matter would be heard on the next
adjourned date, except as directed otherwise by the Chief Judge of
the Federal High Court.

The court adjourned till February 14.