The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the certificate forgery suit filed against Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to media reports, a five-man panel of the apex court delivering judgment in the case said the suit lacked merit and awarded a punitive fine of N100 million against the APC and its co-appellant.
The APC and one of its members, Williams Edobor, had commenced the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja before the September 2020 governorship election in Edo State, which Obaseki wọn on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
However, claiming that Mr Obaseki forged his certificates including his university degree certificate tendered for the election, the plaintiffs had asked the court to disqualify him as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the poll.
Back in January, the trial judge, Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, had also dismissed the suit for lacking in merit. The APC and his co-plaintiff, however, went on an appeal against the verdict.
A panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja led by Stephen Adah also unanimously dismissed the appellants’ appeal on March 18, and affirmed the Federal High Court’s verdict.
But delivering judgment on Friday, the apex court held that the appellants failed woefully to prove their case against Mr Obaseki and did not provide any evidence to show that the University of Ibadan and the issuing authorities of the other contested certificates tendered by Mr Obaseki denied issuing the certificates.
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