The Supreme Court In Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed a certification forgery suit against Bayelsa Central senatorial candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Konbowei Friday Benson.
The court held that solid proof must be considered before a case on certificate forgery can attract legal proceedings.
Senator Moses Cleopas, another contesting candidate from the same party, had taken the suit to court, praying for the removal of Konbowei as a candidate in the race, on the ground that he presented a forged Secondary School Certificate obtained from the West African Examination Council, WAEC.
The PDP candidate claimed that his opponent had used the forged certificate with false information to not enable him to take part in the senatorial primary election conducted in the party, and also received nomination clearance from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
At the hearing, questions were asked, which includes whether WAEC was consulted in order to validate the claim on whether the certificate was forged or not. But no answer was directly provided to the particular question.
The appellate alleged that the certificate had no date, signature, or index to indicate that it was issued officially by WAEC.
Read Also : States Discontinue suit seeking cancellation of February 25 election
The court rejected the argument by the appellate, as a non-issue and non-viable justification.
The justice who presided over the case, John Okoro, said the appellate should have contacted WAEC for verification since the certificate carried their name.
