Certificate forgery: Tribunal hears testimony against Kaduna senator

Six witnesses have presented their testimonies at the election tribunal against the qualification of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Senator Lawal Adamu, who was declared winner of the Kaduna Central senatorial district election.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, called these witnesses to challenge his opponent.

Led by Justice H.H Kereng, a three-man panel listened to the testimonies provided by witnesses from Lawal Adamu’s former schools and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The first witness was Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), represented by a member of the university’s legal team and Associate Professor Abubakar Is’haq from the Faculty of Law. The university was subpoenaed to provide Lawal Adamu’s records during his time as a student.

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The second witness was the National Examination Council (NECO), represented by the Director of Special Duties, Esther Bala Wuyaa. The witness presented certified result confirmation to the court.

The third witness was the Head Teacher of Demonstration Primary School, Dr. Ibrahim Yusuf. The school presented registration records from 1982 to 1986, which showed no evidence of Lawal Adamu Usman as a student, contrary to his claims in the documents submitted to INEC for the 2023 general elections.

Also, Bello Suleiman, the Principal of Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Gwagwalada, testified that based on available records, there was no candidate named Lawal Adamu Usman from 1986 to 1994, as stated by Senator Lawal Adamu Usman in his submission to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on form CF001 for the 2023 general elections.

Two more witnesses, including an INEC representative, were called upon after the court issued subpoenas to testify based on the request of the Petitioner’s Counsel, Johnson Usman SAN.

The tribunal adjourned the sitting until July 11, 2023, to continue admitting additional witnesses and evidence regarding the certificate forgeries allegedly committed by the defendant.