Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has secured another legal victory ahead of the scheduled governorship election as the Abuja division of the Federal High Court on Monday, struck out a suit seeking his disqualification from the poll on account of alleged certificate forgery.
The suit was by Edobor Williams, Ugesia Godwin and Amedu Anakhu, who joined the governors’ former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Inspector-General of Police and Obaseki himself.
Justice Anwuli Chikere struck out the suit as neither the plaintiffs’ lawyers nor the defendants’ were present in court.
The plaintiffs alleged in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/553/2020, that the University of Ibadan certificate which he attached to his Form CF.001 which he submitted to INEC for his first term election in 2016 was forged.
They argued that the governor’s educational information contained in Part C of the Form CF 001 which he submitted to INEC on July 12, 2016 and the first degree certificate of Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies, said to have been obtained from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, was forged.
The plaintiffs had argued that this was “contrary to the provisions of section 182(1)(i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999”.
According to them, Obaseki was therefore “not qualified to run or seek the office of Governor of Edo State under the platform of the 1st defendant (APC) in the governorship election scheduled to hold in the state on September 19, 2020”.