Appeal court dismisses certificate forgery suit against Obaseki

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed a certificate forgery suit against Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and one Williams Edobor, a chieftain of the party, had filed a suit against Obaseki, accusing him of forging the first degree certificate which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enable him contest the governorship election.

But the governor had insisted that the error on the copy of his certificate, which he submitted to INEC, was made by a photocopying machine.

Also, Abayomi Ajayi, an official of the legal unit of the University of Ibadan who was summoned to testify as a defence witness, had told the court that the institution issued a Bachelor of Arts certificate to Obaseki in 1979.

Ahmed Mohammed, the trial judge, had on January 9, 2021, dismissed the suit against Obaseki.

Aggrieved by the court’s decision, the APC approached the court of appeal.

Delivering judgment in the appeal on Thursday, Stephen Adah, the judge, held that the lower court was right in its findings and conclusions.

Adah said the evidence given by Ajayi proves that Obaseki did not forge the certificate he submitted to the electoral commission.

The court held that the appeal lacked merit, and the suit was dismissed accordingly.

The court further ordered the appellants to pay N250,000 cost to the governor and N50,000 each in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and INEC.