Birth certificate forgery: Court dismisses suit against Wike

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday dismissed the suit filed by one Elvis Chinda seeking to disqualify Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state from contesting Saturday’s polls over alleged birth certificate forgery.

The court dismissed the suit while ruling on the preliminary objection filed by Governor Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

Justice Ekwo said being a pre-election matter “the suit is status bar” because it was not commenced “within the 14 days allowed by law.”

According to the judge, the plaintiff position that the cause of action arose (November 13, 2018) when he obtained a certified true copy of INEC document containing the forged birth certificate “was strange.”

Justice Ekwo said the cause action arose when the plaintiff had reasonable ground that Wike submitted forged birth certificate.

As at the time March 7, 2018, when he applied to INEC for the document he had reasonable ground that the document was forged.

The court also described the suit as “an abuse of court process.”

Justice Ekwo said the suit was commenced when an appeal filed by the plaintiff lawyer on same matter is pending before the Court of Appeal.

In his judgement on the substantive suit which was argued along the preliminary objection, Justice Ekwo held that the allegation of forgery of Wike birth certificate ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He said the burden of prove did not shift to the defendants, but lied with plaintiff. Though the plaintiff tendered a CTC from INEC, and that “there was no payment receipt to show that it is an evidence from the commission.”

The plaintiff had in the originating summons filed by his lawyer Achinike William-Wobodo urged the court to determine whether Certificate of Birth (Statutory Declaration of Age) attached to Governor Wike Form C.F.001 presented to INEC, purportedly deposed to on the 3rd October 1986 by one Collins Nyeme Wike from Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers state was forged.

He urged the court grant the reliefs sought “because a document that lied against itself is forged.”

The counsel said as at 1986 Obio/Okoor local government area of Rivers state was not in existence because the local government in question was created in 1989 by Decree No 12 of 1989, two years after the alleged forgery was committed.

After the judgement on Friday, William-Wobodo told journalists that his client “will appeal the decision” while Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) who represented Wike said the judgement vindicated their position.

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