Godwin Obaseki: Edo governor has legitimate certificate — UI registrar
Godwin Obaseki did not forge his University of Ibadan (UI) certificate, a school official has told the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had dragged the Edo governor to court over alleged certificate forgery.
But the Deputy Chief Registrar, Legal Affairs, UI, Abayomi Ajayi, who testified on subpoena, told Justice Ahmed Mohammed that the governor graduated from the university.
Ajayi gave his testimony on Tuesday with the trial expected to continue today.
Relevant pages of UI calendar for 1976, admission brochure for degrees, award of diplomas and certificates and Obaseki’s application for admission and another one for collection of his certificate from the university were tendered by the witness and admitted as exhibits by the court.
The witness maintained that from the records of the university, Obaseki was admitted as student in 1976 through direct entry and graduated in 1979.
Under cross examination by counsel for the APC, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), the witness said, “I will not regard the photocopy of the original certificate as forged, but incomplete photocopy, because the certificate of the University of Ibadan is larger than the paper upon which the photocopy was made.”
Earlier in his evidence, Charity Aiguobarueghian, an unofficial advisor to Obaseki, had admitted making the disputed photocopy of the original degree certificate for his principal.
All the certificates, which are original copies, were admitted as exhibits by Justice Mohammed.
Meanwhile, ThankGod Iduresi, the younger brother of the South-South Zonal Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Gabriel Iduseri, was on Tuesday shot by gunmen in Benin, who also made away with his car.
Gabriel, a witness in the certificate forgery case instituted against Obaseki, gave his testimony on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
It is not clear if there is any link between his involvement in the case and the attack on his brother.
