Court fails to stop Buhari, hear eligibility suits

The tension and anxiety generated by the hearing of the consolidated suits challenging the eli­gibility of the presidential candidate of All Progres­sives Congress (APC), Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to contest Satur­day’s presidential election were yesterday dissolved when the trial judge, Jus­tice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja adjourned further trial till April 22 and 23. The action of the court means that there will be no ju­dicial pronouncement on the 13 consolidated suits before the conduct of the elections on Saturday. Justice Ademola, who fixed the new dates for the suits without consultation with the counsel, said he took the decision because of the impending Easter holiday and judges’ conference that would follow. The plaintiffs in the suits had all asked the court to declare Buhari ineligible to contest the presidential elec­tion on the basis of his alleged failure to submit his academic certificate to Independent National Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) along with Form CF001.