A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the attempt by a splinter group in the Action Alliance (AA) party to stop the certificate forgery suit instituted against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The bid by the group loyal to Tinubu, and led by Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje, was rejected by the court from being joined as an interested party in the suit.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu turned the group’s request on Monday while giving a ruling on the joinder application by Omo-Aje and his faction.
The court specifically threw out the request on the grounds that conditions precedent for such joinder to be granted were not placed before the court.
Amongst others, Justice Egwuatu held that Omo-Aje did not establish his claim as National Chairman of the Action Alliance, and also did not disclose how his interest would be jeopardised if not joined as a defendant in the suit.
Justice Egwuatu, while dismissing the joinder request, described the group as a meddlesome interloper and busy body until their interests likely to be affected are clearly established.
The learned Judge said that both Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and Ambassador Suleiman Abdumalik who filed the joinder application on behalf of their faction, failed to satisfy the conditions on why they should be joined.
Besides, the Judge held that they also failed to make out a case in any form, to sway the court to join them.
The factional group, in the joinder application, sought for 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 Judge, thereafter, ordered the plaintiff (AA) to open its case of certificate forgery allegations against Tinubu on November 4, 2022.
Justice Egwuatu specifically ordered that witnesses in the suit must be brought before the court to enable it determine the suit within the time stipulated by law.
Action Alliance Party in the suit, is seeking disqualification of Tinubu from the 2023 election on alleged certificate Forgery.
The party had on June 21, asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from including the name of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ballot of the 2023 presidential election.
The party in the Writ of Summon marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/954/2022, predicated its request on the claim that both the APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu are not qualified to participate in the 2023 presidential election on alleged forgery committed by Tinubu in 1999.