Governor Suswam's Certificate Forgery Case Dismissed By Appeal Court.

The end is not in sight in the quest to dethrone Governor Gabriel Suswam over the allegations that he forged his WAEC results, hence not qualified to contest the 2011 PDP governorship primary in Benue State.

PDP governorship aspirant Terver Kakih at the Court of Appeal in Makurdi alleged that he was not given fair hearing by the Federal High Court in Makurdi in his case against Governor Gabriel Suswam.

This is just as the Governor accused Kakih of filing his appeal out of the mandatory 14 days. Another case of technicality used to throw out the case at the lower court.

The issues came to the fore yesterday at the Court of Appeal in Makurdi during the adoption of briefs by parties in the case.

The five Justices of the Appeal Court who raised the issue asked counsel to Kakih Barr. Sam Kargbo to explain the consequences that led to the lower court denying him fair hearing.

Barr. Kargbo told the court that he filed a counter-affidavit opposing the application by the governor and PDP to call more witnesses but surprisingly he was never allowed to move the application while the application of the governor was granted.

“I protested and told the judge that it should be put on record that I was not heard and he said yes. The sequence was faulty. I was supposed to move my counter-affidavit before them and not for the court to grant their applications together with mine”, he queried.

But counsel to Governor Suswam and PDP Jubrin Okutepa countered his arguments maintaining that it is on record that Kargbo did not indicate any interest to raise a counter-affidavit to their application to bring additional witnesses, adding that all the issues were contained in his final written address which he adopted before the court.

Earlier while adopting his brief, Barr. Kargbo urged the court to set aside the judgment of the trial court and allow the appeal to go on.

He alluded that the judgment had nothing to do with INEC and WAEC since they did not have evidences and asked the court to expunge them from the appeal.

The appellant, who cited the case of Governor Timpre Sylva Vs PDP, argued that the fact remained that his client was an aspirant and has the right to complain at the Federal High Court over the way and manner the party’s primary was conducted.

He also harped on the qualification of Governor Suswam, noting that he did not present any credential to contest the primary.

“It is a constitutional requirement to present certificate as enshrined in section 177 but he did not do so”, Kargbo claimed.

Okutepa said the authority of PDP and Sylva was decided by the Supreme Court which held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit as the issue of nomination is strictly a party affair.

On qualification of his client, Okutepa, SAN contended that the onus lied on Kakih to have presented a forge certificate of the governor which he failed to do even as the lower court had rejected form 001 which he presented for not been duly uncertified.

He also noted that Kakih admitted during cross examination that he did not present any documents during screening.

“A man who wants to be governor did not present any credentials and he expected my client to do so. I urge the court to dismiss the appeal for lack merit”, Okutepa appealed.