Barely one week to the presidential poll, a group of lawyers have
dragged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba before a
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for refusing to investigate the
allegation of certificate forgery levelled against the presidential
candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
The lawyers operating under the auspices of Global Centre for Conscious Living Against Corruption, a non-governmental organisation, are praying the court headed by Justice Abdu Kafarati for an order of Mandamus compelling the IGP to investigate Buhari’s certificate saga in line with his statutory responsibilities.
In the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/172/2015, filed by Professor Andrew Chukwuemerie (SAN), the plaintiffs want the court to order police investigation into the “alleged acquisition and possession of the West African School Certificate by Buhari at Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, in view of non-production of the said school certificate of certified true copy thereof”.
Invoking the original jurisdiction of the court by way of originating summons, the plaintiffs are contending that the IGP has an obligation under the Nigerian constitution to investigate allegations of forgery and lying on oath made against the APC presidential candidate.
Following a subsequent application by the plaintiff’s counsel, the court gave an order for accelerated hearing and directed the IGP to enter his defence within 7 days.
In the originating summons supported by a 31-paragraph affidavit, sworn to by Joy Odoh, the plaintiffs told the court that the police had refused to investigate Buhari’s certificate saga despite repeated demands.
Attached as exhibit to the originating summons among others by the plaintiffs is a copy of a letter written by the test department of the national office of West African Examinations Council in Ghana.
The said letter states that General Buhari’s name and records are not in its examinations archive, which entails that he was never a candidate for the examination set by the body.
The plaintiffs are also contending that Gen Buhari lied on oath and ought to be tried for perjury when he declared in an affidavit submitted to INEC that his secondary school certificate was with the Military Board.
The claim, they argued, was found to be false as the military authorities denied having such document in its possession.
The plaintiffs posited that allegations of forgery and perjury are too weighty to be ignored by the police which has a constitutional duty to investigate all allegations bordering on crime in the interest of justice and that all efforts made to make the police perform its duties have proved futile.
The lawyers operating under the auspices of Global Centre for Conscious Living Against Corruption, a non-governmental organisation, are praying the court headed by Justice Abdu Kafarati for an order of Mandamus compelling the IGP to investigate Buhari’s certificate saga in line with his statutory responsibilities.
In the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/172/2015, filed by Professor Andrew Chukwuemerie (SAN), the plaintiffs want the court to order police investigation into the “alleged acquisition and possession of the West African School Certificate by Buhari at Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, in view of non-production of the said school certificate of certified true copy thereof”.
Invoking the original jurisdiction of the court by way of originating summons, the plaintiffs are contending that the IGP has an obligation under the Nigerian constitution to investigate allegations of forgery and lying on oath made against the APC presidential candidate.
Following a subsequent application by the plaintiff’s counsel, the court gave an order for accelerated hearing and directed the IGP to enter his defence within 7 days.
In the originating summons supported by a 31-paragraph affidavit, sworn to by Joy Odoh, the plaintiffs told the court that the police had refused to investigate Buhari’s certificate saga despite repeated demands.
Attached as exhibit to the originating summons among others by the plaintiffs is a copy of a letter written by the test department of the national office of West African Examinations Council in Ghana.
The said letter states that General Buhari’s name and records are not in its examinations archive, which entails that he was never a candidate for the examination set by the body.
The plaintiffs are also contending that Gen Buhari lied on oath and ought to be tried for perjury when he declared in an affidavit submitted to INEC that his secondary school certificate was with the Military Board.
The claim, they argued, was found to be false as the military authorities denied having such document in its possession.
The plaintiffs posited that allegations of forgery and perjury are too weighty to be ignored by the police which has a constitutional duty to investigate all allegations bordering on crime in the interest of justice and that all efforts made to make the police perform its duties have proved futile.
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