The Federal High Court in Abuja will today, Saturday, deliver judgement in a suit seeking the disqualification of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State as a candidate in the September 2020 governorship election.
The plaintiffs accused the governor of forging his Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies certificate which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in support of his nomination as a candidate in the Edo State governorship election.
The governor, who contested and won the September 2020 election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, denied the allegation.
LIVE UPDATE:
The judgement was scheduled to commence by 12p.m., but the judge, Ahmed Mohammed, has not arrived as of 12.05p.m.
The judge, Mr Mohammed, arrives courtroom to deliver judgment at 1.10p.m.
The judge started delivering judgment at 1.20pm after lawyers announced their appearances.
The judge giving a recap of the testimonies, says the plaintiffs called six witnesses:
First plaintiffs’ witness, Edoba Omoregie, had testified that Governor Obaseki submitted false or forged certificate which he claimed to have obtained from the University of Ibadan in 1979.
Mr Omoregie, a professor, said that the certificate submitted to INEC for the purposes of the September 2020 was without a date of issuance and signature of the registrar.
He said the certificate presented by the governor for the 2020 election was different from the one he submitted to INEC when he contested the earlier 2016 election for his first term in office.
He said Mr. Obaseki lied under oath and submitted false or forged certificate to INEC.
The second plaintiffs’ witness, Samuel Omale, an employee and legal officer of INEC, tendered Mr Obaseki’s Form EC9 submitted INEC ahead of the 2020 election.
He said he was not part of INEC team that received documents for the purposes of the election.
Details later…
