Court orders hearing of perjury case against Governor Obaseki

The hearing on the case of perjury instituted against the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki, by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and one other would begin on November 16.

The Nation reports that the date was fixed by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, November 5, following an application by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN).

Legit.ng gathered that the APC accused Governor Obaseki of lying about the academic credentials he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the Edo governorship election.

Justice Mohammed reminded parties that the suit was filed on July 14, adding that being a pre-election case, has a life span of 180 days, which would end in January 2021, urging the lawyers to cooperate with the court so that the case can be determined before the expiry date.

The newspaper said that the plaintiffs claimed in their writ of summons that Obaseki forged his university certificate which he presented to the INEC to aid his qualification for the governorship election.

They also claimed there were discrepancies in the subject Obaseki claimed he passed in his West African Examination Council (WAEC) exam and in his testimonial.

The plaintiffs want the court to declare that Obaseki’s claim in his INEC form EC9 at column C, sworn to on June 29, 2020, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court registry, to the effect that he obtained from the University of Ibadan in 1979, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Studies, is false and contrary to section 31 (5) and (6) of the electoral act, 2010.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that after many litigations from some opposition parties in Edo, especially the Action Democratic Party (ADP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) admitted that there is an error in the certificate of the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki.

It was reported that the PDP said there was actually a mistake in Obaseki’s admission and graduation years.

The party said the governor erroneously filled in 1976 as the year of graduation, which was originally the year of his admission into the University of Ierroneouslybadan (UI).