A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Lokoja in a case of forgery allegation preferred against a Lokoja-based legal practitioner, Mr Julius Elukpo, has been adjourned till April 11.
While adjourning the case yesterday, the presiding Chief Magistrate, Mr Seidu Hussein, said it was to allow for the authentication of documents in Abuja by the counsel to the Kogi state Commissioner of Police who is the complainant.
Elukpo, who is the Chairman of Kogi Elders Forum, is facing one count charge of forgery preferred against him by the police commissioner.
He was alleged to have used the signatures of three persons to write a petition against the management of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja in March 2016.
Before the adjournment, Oteme, the police counsel announced that all his five witnesses were present in court and sought the permission of the Chief Magistrate to open trial.
The court granted the permission and the Medical Director of the FMC, Dr Olatunde Alabi, was invited to give witness.
Alabi told the court that he suspected that the signatures on the petition were forged through exchange of letters written between the Medical Centre and the three persons whose signatures were allegedly forged.
He mentioned their names to include a former state Head of Service, Mrs Sabina Atta, Mr Stephen Yakubu and Mr James Mesole, who are all members of Kogi Elders Forum.
Atta, Yakubu and Mesole are principal witnesses in the case and they were present in court on Wednesday .
Alabi said that the trio in their joint reply to his letter denied writing a petition against the management of the centre to the Minister of health.
He said it was on the basis of this that he wrote the state Commissioner of police to investigate the matter.
He tendered the letters in court and they were admitted and marked exhibits A,B and C.
However under cross examination by the defendant’s counsel, Mr Muisdeen Abdullahi, Alabi, admitted lodging a complaint to the police and not the persons whose signatures were forged.
He also admitted that Elukpo did not sign the petition letter written to the Minister of health.
