JUST IN: WAEC Certificate: Court Rejects Suit Seeking To Disqualify Adamawa Gov

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Apo has
dismissed a suit that sought to disqualify the Governor of Adamawa
State, Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow from contesting the next
governorship election.

The Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation
International had, in the suit, marked FCT/CV/518/2018, alleged
that Bindow supplied false information to the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) in his INEC Form CF001 by purporting to
have sat for the West African Examination Council (WAEC), in June,
1983 and posses General Certificate of Education (GCE) issued by
the examination body.

The group, while urging the court disqualify Bindow, accused him
of falsely declaring his educational qualification and date of
birth for the purpose of nomination/election into the office of
Governor of Adamawa State for the 2019 general elections.

In a judgment on Monday, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, upheld the
preliminary objection raised against the suit by the Governor and
declined jurisdiction.

Justice Adeniyi held that the High Court of the FCT lacked the
territorial jurisdiction to inquire into whether or not the
information submitted by somebody who seeks to contest election in
Adamawa State were false or not.

Justice Adeniyi said since the information Bindow supplied to
INEC were published in Adamawa State, as required under Section
31(3), the cause of action could be said to have accrued in
Adamawa, where the plaintiff game about the published
information.

He said it was an abuse of court process and an act of forum
shopping for the plaintiff to have travelled all the way to the FCT
to challenge an alleged infraction that took place in Adamawa
State, where available courts could have safely dealt with issues
raised.

Details shortly…