The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its State Assembly candidate for Ado State Constituency of Benue State, Mrs Agnes Uloko, on Thursday urged the election petition tribunal to grant them the reliefs sought in their petition against the deputy speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Danladi Lami, as she has accepted allegations of forgery under cross examination.
The petitioners who are challenging the declaration of Danladi Lami as the winner of the March 18th, 2023, State Assembly elections for Ado State Constituency, stated this through their counsel, Edward Agena, while adopting their final written address.
According to the petitioners counsel, the deputy speaker tendered a result captioned “SSCE RESULT 2004 WAEC” allegedly issued by the Ministry of Education, Zamfara State.
He stressed that the said document which is of dubious origin was admitted in evidence subject to the objection of the petitioners and marked as Exhibit G.
He stated that Mrs Lami however did not tender the First School Leaving Certificate, FSLC, in
evidence.
He continued that under cross-examination by petitioners’ counsel on who has the power to issue certificates, the deputy speaker affirmed that it is the examination body and school where the examination was written that issues certificates.
“It is true that results of examinations are issued by
the bodies that conducted the examination and the
School of the candidate?
Mrs Lami replied, ” Yes.”
Mr Agena submitted that the affirmative answer of the deputy speaker to the question establishes the assertion of the petitioners in the petition that the deputy speaker did not sit for SSCE in 2004 and did not obtain same, contrary to the information supplied by her in her INEC
Form EC9.
He further contended that there is no evidence on the record that
the Hon. Lami sat for the said SSCE examination at the Ministry
of Education in Sokoto State as even in her reply to
the petition stated in paragraph 10(i) that she sat for the SSCE
exams in 2004 at Government Girls Day Secondary School Samaru
in May/June 2004.
Mr Agena submitted the It therefore follows that only the West African
Examination Council (WAEC) or Government Girls Day Secondary
School Samaru can issue a certificate or result to that effect.
He urged the panel of Justices to take judicial notice of the fact that SSCE results are not issued by Ministries of Education but the Schools where such exams are written and by WAEC.
He further submitted that the Exhibit ‘ G’ relied upon by the deputy speaker did not emanate from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or Government Girls Day Secondary School Samaru.
It therefore cannot be said that the deputy speaker obtained an SSCE in 2004 and a careful perusal of the said Exhibit ‘G’ reveals that same was purportedly signed by the
Examination Officer on the 7th day of February, 2004 whereas the deputy speaker in paragraph 10(i)in her reply to the petition said she sat for the SSCE exams in 2004 at Government Girls Day Secondary School Samaru in May/June 2004.
He urged the tribunal to resolve the lone issue for determination in favour of the petitioners and grant all the reliefs sought.
Counsel to the the deputy speaker, H.M Ibega, counsel to the APC, Fidelis Mnyim and counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Terna Agerzua, all urged the tribunal to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Ory Zik-Ikeorha adjourned the matter for judgement on a date to be communicated to the parties.
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