President Muhammadu Buhari opened his defence on. Tuesday by tendering some 26 documents, including copies of his academic credentials, including certified true copy (CTC) of the Confidential result sheet of University of Cambridge, West Africa School Certificate 1961 for Provincial Secondary School, Katsina.
listed as the second respondent in the petition by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has also called his first witness.
The first witness, Major General Paul Chabir Tarfa, said he was a mate with the President in the Nigeria Army and that they were all enlisted on April 16, 1962.
He said they were enlisted upon passing the examination and that they were thought in all the courses they attended in English.
Under cross-examination by lawyer to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yunus Usman (SAN) the witness said they were not asked to submit their certificates to the Nigeria Army.
Usman: “You submitted all your school certificates to the Nigerian Army when you were enlisted?”
Witness: “There was nothing of such.”
However, the legal team of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tuesday, rejected the documents tendered regarding the allegation challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s Secondary school certificate ahead of the February 23 presidential elections.
Buhari’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun, before the tribunal, said, “We have served each of the parties the schedule, we intend to tender 16 copies of newspapers report and 17 documents titled, “APC Roadmap to a new Nigeria. We seek to tender the documents”.
The legal team of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, led by Yunus Usman and the legal team of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, led by Kateef Fagbemi, all admitted the documents as presented.
But lead counsel of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the person of Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, vehemently rejected the documents.
Uzoukwu said, ”My Lord, We vehemently objected to this strange documents. We shall articulate our reasons in our final address, My Lord”.
However, part of the documents are: Cambridge Assessment International Reputation certified statement of West African School certificate of President Muhammadu Buhari in 1961, Certified true copy of confidential results sheet of University of Cambridge West African School Certificate of 1961 for Provincial Secondary School Katsina, showing the list of candidates who attended and passed the examination in 1961 and a group photograph of students of Katsina provincial Secondary school of 1961.
On the whole, Uzuokwu affirmed, “The illusive certificate, we are, yet to see. We reserve to give full reason in our final address including all other documents, we object to all of them”.
