Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State will commence his defence on Tuesday before a Federal High Court in Abuja in the alleged certificate forgery case brought against him by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Edobor Williams (a member of the party).
It was alleged that Obaseki forged his first degree certificate; he claimed to have obtained from the University of Ibadan, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of his educational qualification.
Other defendants in the suit are the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and INEC.
Plaintiffs’ lead lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) announced the closure of his clients’ case at around 6pm on Monday after calling a total of six witnesses, following which Justice Ahmed Mohammed adjourned till 10 on Tuesday for the first defendant (Obaseki) to open his defence.
Among the witnesses called by the plaintiffs were two Associate Professors, who said they graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1978 and 1979.
At the commencement of proceedings on Monday, the defendants continued their cross-examination of the fourth plaintiffs’ witness, Raphael Onwuzuligbo, a retired Police officer and a Forensic Document Examiner.
Lawyers to Obaseki and the PDP – Ken Mozia (SAN) and Razak Isenalumhe took turn to cross-examine Onwuzuligbo, during which the witness told the court how he was engaged by an individual he chose to describe as a faithful steward to examine some documents relating to Obaseki’s certificate, which is being contested.