PLATEAU: OUR PETITION AGAINST MOHAMMAD ADAM ALKALI IS ON ALLEGATION OF FORGERY. RT. HON. BABA HASSAN/APC TELL TRIBUNAL

By: Valentine Adese (JP),

Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Baba Hassan and his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), have told the National/State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jos, Plateau State, before adjourning for Judgment, Petition No: EPT/PL/HR/08/2023 that, the issue in contention in the Petition is the allegation of disqualification based on Constitutional Breach and,

“Since the petition is on allegation of disqualification based on Constitutional breach and merging the two separate petitions in to one is in tandem with paragraph 49 of the First Schedule of the Electoral, Act, 2022”.

This was stated in Rt. Hon. Baba Hassan’s response to the Preliminary Objections raised by the 4^th and 5^th Respondents on the First Ground of the Petitioners Petition.

In apart, the Petitioner’s stated that:-

“3.01. The argument of the 4^th and 5^th Respondent that this Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to entertain this petition because there is no proper party before it is not tenable here because this petition is a two separate petition merged in to one in order to give the parties fair hearing.

“Since the petition is on allegation of disqualification based on Constitutional breach and merging the two separate petitions in to one is in tandem with paragraph 49 of the First Schedule of the Electoral, Act, 2022.

‘Therefore the argument of the 4^th and 5^th Respondent on this issue is apposite, misleading and misconceived.

“The case of APC v. ADP & Ors (2021) LPELR-54280 relied by the 4^th and 5^th Respondent is under the last regime of the electoral law in Nigeria. The new regime of electoral law at paragraph 49 of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act, 2022 accommodate such.

“And the 2^nd and 4^th Respondents were joined in one petition not on the conduct of the election alone, rather on qualification to contest the election, done in the interest of fair hearing to enable them defend themselves.

“We urge this Hon. Tribunal to resolve this issue against the 4^th and 5^th Respondents.

Rt. Hon. Baba Hassan also told the Tribunal that as Petitioners, they hv established evidence that the 4^th Respondent, Hon. Adam has presented forged primary school certificate to INEC, which was disclosed by their witnesses.

In part the Petitioners stated that:-

“4.03 The petitioners have also established by evidence that the 4^th Respondent has presented a forged primary school certificate to 1^st Respondent this was disclosed by PW2 (the Education Secretary of the Jos-North Local Government Education Authority) on behalf of the issuing authority of public School primary School Certificate in Jos-North, Plateau State. The school record tendered by the 4^th Respondent Counsel by way of cross examination of the PW2herein Marked as Exhibit P14 also confirmed that the Headmasters Report contained in the face of the alleged forged Certificate is totally at variance with Exhibit P14. Also confirmed that the alleged primary School Certificate is forged, is the evidence of 4RW5, who testified under cross examination that he field that Certificate with internal school record not common entrance record. And such evidence it is evidence against self. The Petitioner also proved by Police Report through PW1 that an investigation is been carried out by the Police on the matter. Also the Petitioners established by evidence that the 4^th Respondent has no minimum academic Certificate to contest the House of Representative seat of Bassa/Jos-North Federal Constituency, because none of his Certificate is bearing his name MUHAMMAD ADAM ALKALI as reflected in his INEC Form EC9, Marked as Exhibit P8

“4.04 Equally, the petitioners proved by evidence and conceded by the 6^th and 7^th Respondent by not filling any pleadings before this Hon. Tribunal that in the 2023 General Election the 7^th Respondent has not sponsored any candidate for the seat of Bassa/Jos-North Federal Constituency. This evidence is proved by INEC Form EC9D Marked herein as Exhibit P9 and also established that the 6^th Respondent is not a registered member of 7^th Respondent by Exhibit P10”.