The suit challenging the eligibility of President Muhammadu Buhari to contest the 2015 election on account of his alleged lack of an academic certificate has been struck out by an Abuja High Court following a notice of discontinuance by the plaintiff, Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola had reserved yesterday for ruling on an application asking the court to stay execution of a judgment it earlier granted against the defendants.

When the matter was called yesterday, Nwokocha–Ahaiwe’s counsel, Chikordi Okeorji informed the court that the plaintiff had on June 27, filed a notice of discontinuance pursuant to order 50, Rule 2 (1) of the Federal High Court Rules.

Although the defence counsel, Paul Ajiboye told the court that he was not served with the notice, he, however, did not oppose the application for the withdrawal of the suit.

The judge consequently struck out the suit.

Nwokocha-Ahaiwe had filed an application, asking the Federal High Court to nullify Buhari’s election as President of Nigeria on grounds that he did not possess the minimum academic requirement for the position.

The plaintiff in the suit also alleged that Buhari did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as he had earlier claimed.

In his preliminary objection, the president challenged the mode of service of the originating summons on him, stressing that he ought to have been served at an address in Kaduna rather than through substituted means at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

Ademola, however, dismissed the preliminary objection saying it was incompetent and that the service of the court’s process on the president through the secretariat of the APC was proper.

Not satisfied, the defendant had approached the Appeal Court, asking it to set aside or discharge the ex-parte order granted in favour of Nwokocha–Ahaiwe on February 16.

The President also urged the court to make an order setting aside Ahaiwe’s originating summons for being incompetent.

Following the appeal, Ademola had adjourned the matter indefinitely.

However, the suit came up for ruling on Wednesday but in the absence of parties to the case, ruling was reserved for yesterday.