Alleged Certificate Forgery: Judge’s Illness Stalls Suit Against Obaseki
The sudden illness of Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed on Thursday has stalled the hearing in the alleged certificate forgery suit instituted against Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Federal High Court in Abuja
The APC and one of its chieftains, Williams Edobor had dragged the governor, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court seeking Obaseki’s disqualification in the September 19 governorship election over alleged certificate forgery and perjury.
They specifically accused Governor Obaseki of forging his Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies degree he submitted to INEC in aid of his qualification for the last governorship election in Edo State.
The judge had on Wednesday adjourned the hearing for the cross-examination of the fourth plaintiffs’ witness, Raphael Onwuzuligbo, a retired police officer, who claimed to be a forensic document examiner.
However, the hearing which was initially fixed for 12 noon did not commence until about 2 pm.
READ ALSO: Alleged Forgery: Witness Admits Not Sighting Obaseki’s Original Credentials
Justice Mohammed while apologising for the delay explained that he had a “severe attack of malaria” and as such would not be able to go the full hub of the day’s proceedings.
Following the agreement of parties in the suit, the judge then adjourned the hearing till January 4, 2021.
The plaintiffs had at the previous proceedings tendered two additional documents to prove their allegation of certificate forgery against Obaseki.
The two documents which included a University of Ibadan degree certificate, belonging to Professor Emmanuel Balogun and a report by Onwuzuligbo, were admitted in evidence by the court after they were tendered through APC’s lawyer, Akin Olujimi.
The first-degree certificate in agricultural science tendered was awarded to Balogun in 1979, the same year as that of the Edo governor.
