Court strikes out “false age” suit against Wike

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in the March 9 governorship election over alleged age falsification.

The suit was brought by Elvis Chinda contending that Governor Wike of the PDP presented a false birth certificate to INEC and ought to be disqualified.

In the judgment, Justice Iyang Ekwo, held that Chinda failed to prove the allegation beyond reasonable doubt.

The court held that the allegation, being quasi-criminal in nature, ought to be proved beyond every reasonable doubt, a burden it said the plaintiff filed to discharge against Wike.

“In our statutes, forgery is a criminal act. It entails the fraudulently making of a forged document. It is a criminal offence. The onus is on the plaintiff to establish ingredients of the allegation with credible and convincing evidence.

“I find that the plaintiff has not proved allegations against the 1st defendant beyond every reasonable doubt or at all,” the court held.