Witness did not contradict Buhari’s statement on certificate, says lawyer

Aliyu Abdullahi, a lawyer, says Paul Tarfa’s testimony at the presidential election tribunal did not contradict statements credited to President Muhammadu Buhari on his certificates being with the Nigerian army.

During his testimony at the tribunal, Tarfa was asked if when he was enlisted into the Nigerian army, he and if Buhari,  his colleague, were asked to hand over their certificates to the Nigerian army, which he responded “there was no such thing.”

In a statement he issued after the tribunal proceeding, Abdullahi said there was nothing new or contradictory by the testimony of Tarfa as Buhari never said that he submitted his certificate to the Nigerian Army.

“What the President always maintained was that when a coup was conducted against him, they [the Army] carted away everything from his house, including his personal documents, so it is the Army’s burden to produce it,” he said.

“I am surprised this is even an issue. Has it contradicted anything? None! The President never said he submitted his certificate, so there is no contradiction. Nothing like that ever happened.”

A senior public servant said what happened then was that certificates were submitted by the schools to the Nigerian Army and students did not submit it themselves.

“The procedure then was for the school to send all communication to the then Royal Nigerian Army,” he said.

“So in General Buhari’s case, what happened was that the Principal of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina sent his documents, including his certificates, as soon as they were ready, and a letter certifying that he was suitable to the Royal Nigerian Army. It is not as we have now.”