A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday slated February 9, to commence hearing in the suit seeking to disqualify the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, from contesting the presidential election.

A legal practitioner, Max Ozoaka, had, in a suit filed last week, asked the court to stop Buhari from contesting the presidential election on the ground that the information contained in his INEC Form 001 is false.

When the matter came up on Monday, the trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, granted Ozoaka’s request for substituted service on the APC presidential candidate before fixing Monday, next week, for hearing of the case.

The plaintiff, in his originating summons, prays the court to disqualify the APC presidential flag bearer for failing to comply with the terms for submission of list of candidate and affidavit of personal particulars of persons seeking elections to the office of the president.

The plaintiff also seeks a court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (second defendant) from permitting Buhari from participating in the presidential election on February 14 or any other date INEC may fix.

Ozoaka also wants the court to declare the INEC form CF001 filed by Buhari as invalid, being inchoate and manifestly in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act/INEC Form CF001, as Buhari failed to attach evidence of birth certificate and educational qualification in the form he submitted to the electoral body.

He wants the court to hold that Buhari’s non compliance with the conditions inherent, amounts to an offence under Section 31(8) of the Electoral Act as well as an order declaring INEC form CF001 submitted by Buhari as incompetent, inchoate and not in conformity with the form prescribed under the law.

The plaintiff also wants the court to void the voter card Buhari attached to INEC Form CF001 on the ground that as at when the voter card was issued, Buhari was not a public servant.

Among the questions for the court’s determination is, “Whether or not the document purported to be the statement of result/result sheet of the 1st defendant’s (Buhari) Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) provided by the Government College, Katsina and the Katsina State ministry of education is truly and correctly that of Buhari as stated in his affidavit submitted by INEC as the name in the said document.”

He prayed the court to declare that Buhari is mandatorily obliged by law to comply strictly with the provisions of the law, as they relate to attachment of his birth certificate and evidence of his academic qualifications.