Lagos – Efforts to thwart the ongoing suit against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s certificate scandal was aborted by a Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday.

A factional group in the Action Alliance (AA) party, loyal to Tinubu, led by Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje had put up injunction to the court to dismiss the suit challenging the education certificates presented by the APC Presidential candidate to INEC.

The factional group has stormed the court to be join as co-defender in the suit against Bola Tinubu by the other faction of the AA party on fake certificate.

Surprisingly, Justice Obiora Egwuatu in a ruling on the joinder application of Omo-Aje and his faction threw out the request on the grounds that conditions precedent for such joinder to be granted were not placed before the court.

Justice Egwuatu also held that Omo-Aje did not establish his claim as National Chairman of the AA and did not disclose how his interest would be jeopardized if not joined as a defendant in the suit.

While dismissing the joinder request held that the group remains a meddlesome interloper and busybody, the Judge insisted that until their interests likely to be affected are clearly established.

In the ruling, Justice Egwuatu emphasized that both Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and Ambassador Suleiman Abdulmalik 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 a case in any form to sway the court to join them.

The factional group had 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 Friday, 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 the 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 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.

The suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff by its lawyer, Mr Upkai Ukairo, claimed that Tinubu forged the University of Chicago certificate he submitted in 1999 in aid of his qualification for the 1999 governorship election in Lagos State, which was won by Tinubu.

The suit, dated and filed on June 21, has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Bola Tinubu as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively