Gbolahan Balogun
Like the legend of the Phoenix, the bird that dies and decomposes before being born again, the controversy over Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State’s alleged forged certificate has resurfaced as the police in Ilorin dragged Adekunle Oluwafemi Abraham before Chief Magistrate Abdulrahman Dasuki for alleged defamation.
In the Suit Number MCIA/256C/2022, Commissioner of Polic of Kwara State v Olufemi Abraham, the accuser-turned-accused is charged to court to defend himself on allegations of injurious falsehood, criminal defamation of character and giving false evidence contrary to Sections 393, 392 and 158(1) of the Penal Code. The charge sheet stated that the case was reported through a letter of petition to the Commissioner of Police and endorsed to the Public Complaint Bureau office at the state's headquarters
Abraham, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Apado ward, Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state had in May 2019 instituted a case with suit number KWS /73/2019 against Abdulrazaq, then the state governor-elect, on the authenticity of his West Africa Examination Council certificate.
He had alleged in his statement on oath that the purported West African Examination Council (WAEC) School certificate No. SC180683 dated June, 976 was not issued by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). He averred that from his personal experience, the examination body would not write the defendant’s name as “RASAQ A R” as was written on the purported certificate. He, therefore, submitted that since the documents submitted by Abdulrazaq as his educational qualification were not issued by WAEC he was not qualified to contest for the office of Governor of Kwara.
The case was assigned to the court of Justice Adenike Akinpelu, who in her writ of summons dated March 7, 2019, ordered the defendant (Abdurahman Abdulrazaq) to within 30 days enter an appearance in the matter.
But at a sitting of the court on June 17, 2019, Gov Abdulrazaq’s counsel, Lawal Jimoh, told the court that the claimant had discontinued with the case and had indeed filed a notice of discontinuance, with the court on May 15.
Counsel to the claimant, Ola Oludele Lawrence, however, said he was not aware of his client's intention to discontinue the case and argued that he was in court at his behest.
Abraham, however, had indeed submitted a notice of discontinuance of Suit KWS/73/2019 to court saying “I hereby wholly discontinue the case against the defendant.” According to the letter, he did not state any reason for the sudden decision to terminate the case.
Barrister Jimoh at the time explained to newsmen that a litigant reserves the right to withdraw from a case without the consent of his lawyer.
Although Justice Akinpelu insisted that the case subsisted, she eventually, on June 26, 2019 struck out the case and dismissed the certificate forgery case against the governor following the claimant’s application to withdraw the case.
Since the appellant did not give reasons for his action, speculations were rife on whether he was muzzled to submission or cowed by the results of the elections that totally swept off all vestiges of his party, the PDP or even persuaded by the respondent's proof of evidence of official confirmation of AbdulRazaq’s WAEC certificate as filed by the defence counsel.
It was reported at the time that confirmation was sent by the examination body through the legal team that had earlier applied for same, while it also filed a number of depositions claiming that WAEC doesn’t issue a certificate with initials to be false.
All these could not be scrutinised since the claimant chickened out.
With the new twist, it seems Kwarans have not heard the end of the certificate saga. Midlandpost’s sources said Abraham was invited to the state's police headquarters on Thursday 17 March 2022, where he was confronted with the charges of defamation. He was allowed to go home after writing a statement and instructed to come back the following day.
In the afternoon of Friday 18 March, he was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Abdulrahman Dasuki who granted him bail on the term that he provides two sureties with three years of tax clearance and two serving senior civil servants.
The time was 3.40pm. He had just 20 minutes before the court would close for the day and no counsel to plead his case. He didn't meet the magistrate's terms. He spent the weekend at Oke-Kura Prison.
Sections 392 and 393 which account for defamation and injurious falsehood, respectively in the Penal Code on which he is charged, stipulate punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both. On the other hand, section 158 (1) carries a penalty of “imprisonment for a term which may extend for fourteen years and shall also be liable to fine.”
He had appeared in court three times since the case began, while the next hearing was fixed for July 18.
Again, legal opinions sought by Midlandpost indicate that Abraham could still go back to court since the case was ab initio struck out and not dismissed by Justice Akinpelu. The difference between the two situations in law, according to Barrister Adeshina Mohammed is that while you cannot go back on an issue of this sort that is dismissed and not contested, the appellant, (but only him), can indeed go back if he is ready to pursue the case again. This, he said, the governor's legal team would want to guide against since Abraham's untidy situation gave room for it.
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