Over a month since the hotly contested Edo state governorship polls in Nigeria, a Federal High Court in Abuja has selected November 16, 2020, to sit on a case of alleged perjury filled against the re-elected Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki.
The Case At Hand
The plaintiffs, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Edobor Williams had dragged Obaseki, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) court over alleged perjury.
In the suit marked FHC/B/CS/74/2020, the plaintiffs specifically prayed the court for an order disqualifying Obaseki from contesting the September 19 governorship election in Edo State on the grounds that he supplied false information on oath to INEC, an act said to be contrary to Section 31(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
The plaintiffs in the writ of summons specifically accused the governor of forging his university certificate presented to INEC in aid of his qualification for the governorship election in Edo State. They also claimed that there are discrepancies in the subject Obaseki claimed he passed in his West African Examination Council (WAEC) exam and that in his testimonial.
They, therefore, prayed the court for an order disqualifying Obaseki and the PDP from the September 19 governorship election as well as an order directing INEC to remove the name of the PDP and its candidate from the ballot paper or election records or materials.
Time Sensitive
While accepting the plaintiff’s appeal to have the case adjourned to help them better prepare for trial, Justice Mohammed reminded parties in the matter that the suit was filed on July 14, and being a pre-election matter, has a life span of 180 days and so will terminate in January next year.
He then urged the lawyers to cooperate with the court so that the matter could be determined before the expiry date. According to the judge, since both parties would have to call witnesses to give evidence with regards to the disputed issues, they must be mindful of the life span of the matter.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
