Certificate Forgery - Police Storm Court, Arrest Governor Suswam's Accuser

caption: Governor Gabriel Suswam

By SaharaReporters, New York

There was unprecedented Nollywood-style drama today at the Magistrate Court 2 in Wuse, Abuja. in the certificate forgery case between Gov. Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswam and Chigozie Ukpabi as armed policemen broke into the court room and arrested the governor's accuser.

It would be recalled that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tried in various ways to stop the Benue state Governorship election Tribunal from hearing the allegations against Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswam by the All Nigerian Peoples Party [ANPP] and its governorship candidate, Senator Daniel Sarror.

The petitioners claim that at the time of the election, Suswam was not qualified to contest the governorship position, having presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] contrary to section 182 [1] [i] of the 1999 constitution [as amended].

They claim that Suswam possesses three differemt General Certificate in Education (GCE) O’ level 1982 certificates from the same sitting with the same candidate number, with two of them actually bearing the same certificate number, but with different subjects or even different grades.

At the Supreme Court late last year, the Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN], Justice Dahiru Musdapher and four other Justices dismissed the appeal after disagreeing with the appellant that “the tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain the issue of forgery but a regular court.”

Ukpabi is a former member of staff of the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), who averred that in 2005, Suswan engaged him to forge a WAEC certificate for him.  The forgery was successful but while it led to his losing his job at the Exams Council, Suswam has allegedly used it as the basis of his academic and political ascension.

Ukpabi's arrest today came immediately the case was adjourned. It was supervised by ASP Simon Lough, the prosecutor in the case. Ukpabi was driven away by the police to an unknown destination.