Plateau Former Deputy Speaker Rt Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan To Open Defense On January 14

Yakubu Busari 

The case between Plateau former Deputy Speaker Rt Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan, and (Abdul Saleh) has been closed and the matter adjourned to 14th January 2019 for the opening of defense by the defendant.

Alhaji Abdul Saleh the plaintiff in his witness box told the court to adopt statements as evidence that he paid expression of interest form of N50,000 and nomination form of N500,000 and that the certificate of return was given to him.

According to him, he decided to approach the court because of the first defendant ,Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan who presented fake certificate in diploma in Business Administration to the INEC, when sought to know whether he can identify the fake certificate, he explained further that his counsel applied to the registrar of University of Jos, Mr. Jilli Dandam.

In his witness oath, Saleh said the documents emanated from the office of the registrar of University of Jos and the APC which is the second defendant faulted the documents presented to the court as fake certificate said the plaintiff contested for primaries of the APC in December 2014 and lost to the defendant.

The documents paraded by the plaintiff with the stamp of CTC of the acting National legal director of INEC was faulted because they all lack original copies, 2nd defendant counsel, former NBA Chairman of Plateau state, Barr. Ledak Safer objected that the documents cannot be tendered as evidence.

Barr Dafer said the purported 1st, 2nd and 3rd documents are not actual proof of evidence of payments without receipts attached which the expression of interest form,nomination form are all photocopied asking the court to reject it and not accept photocopied as proof of evidence but supply them with original or to provide certified copies.

Adding that the plaintiff who is PW2 has not furnished the court how he got those photocopied documents but counsel to the plaintiff Barr. David C. Ibawuchi said that section 91 of the evidence act subsection 28, 29 and 32 of Federal High Court ruled that civil procedure rule provide that the plaintiff shall serve the party in the position of notice to produce original copies of the documents.

However, ruling over the contested documents,Justice Musa Kurya of the federal high admitted the documents and marked it as exhibits 17, 18 and 19 respectively.

While being cross-examining by the first defendant counsel, SAN, Solomon Umoh, the plaintiff who was a PW2 disclosed that he obtained BSc in English from the University of Jos in 2002. I have been in business when I graduated in 2002 and l also participated in politics.

He admitted that he contested for primaries in 2014 with the respondent including 3 others contestants but he came second and I feel that I am the most qualified person if the court can remove Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan and bring me in.

PW2 told the court that the former Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan has already spent 12 years as a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, so my own challenge came in his 3rd time where I raised the concern of his forged credential believing that the court can disqualify him on grounds of certificate forgery

Pw2 told the court the first defendant Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan has first school leaving certificate, secondary school certificate and BSc in management science but my focus is on his diploma in business administration.

I know that constitutionally Babs is qualified but I pray this honourable court to disqualify him based on alleged forgery of the certificate.

According to the witness, the publication in The Punch newspaper and New Telegraph was purported to have emanated from the office of the registrar of University of Jos, so I have no reason to challenge Ibrahim Baba-Hassan other credentials but only produced the Punch newspaper without the New Telegraph and he also denied the police letter wrote them as a clearance that the defendant was their students but failed some courses.

He added that he demand verification of Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan certificate dated April 27th,2015 through Barr. Aleyi Oloche and the university authenticate No UJ/DDA/93/0 in her reply to the request for Baba-Hassan membership.