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Godwin Tsa, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday opened his defence with three key witnesses, including his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari in the petition challenging his victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
In his evidence before the Justice Mohammed Garba led five-member tribunal, Abba Kyari who dressed in white caftan and a red cap to match, admitted that no certificate was listed on the President’s curriculum vitae and that none was among the documents obtained from Cambridge University earlier tendered as exhibits.
Before his evidence, lead counsel to the President, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) had tendered 29 documents through Buhari’s first witness, Major General Paul Tarfa (retd), including certified true copies of certificates and results of Cambridge examinations which Buhari took in 1961.
The documents include president Buhari West African Examination School Certificate, WAEC which was tendered longside a group photograph he took with his classmates at Provisional Secondary School Katsina State, in 1961, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
Specifically, the second batch of eight documents, comprised of Cambridge Assessment International Certified Statement Of West African School Certificate For President Buhari who Olanipekun said passed the exam in second grade in 1961. Others were the collection receipt for the result, CTC of confidential result sheet of University of Cambridge West African School Certificate, 1961, for Provincial Secondary School Katsina which showed Buhari with his classmates. Group Photographs of Form 6 students of his set in school, as well as printout of online news publication of January 22, 2015, with respect to the set. Olanipekun also tendered Certificate of compliance for the documents as prescribed in section 24 of Evidence Act, and a letter of commendation from a Commandant of the US Army to General Akin Ade in June 13, 1980, concerning President Buhari.
Meanwhile, Atiku’s lawyer, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, challenged admissibility of the documents.
While objecting to them, he described the first set of documents as “very strange” adding that he would subsequently adduce reasons why the Buhari’s certificate which he said was never pleaded nor listed by the 2nd Respondent, lacked probative value.
The first witness, Major Gen. 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
On their part, counsel representing INEC, Usman and APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) did not object to the admissibility of the documents.
Kyari, who was Buhari’s third defence witness, also admitted obtaining the Cambridge documents personally on July 18, 2019.
Answering questions put to him under cross examination by the petitioners’ counsel, Kyari said he was 67 years old and that he had known Buhari for nearly 40 years.
He also told the tribunal that he signed for and collected the Cambridge documents for the assessment by Cambridge.
The Chief of Staff to the president confirmed that none of the documents contained a certificate as the Cambridge documents were “assessments.”
He also confirmed that the curriculum vitae signed by Buhari did not have any certificate listed, apart from the list of schools attended by the President.
He also admitted that the Diploma in Strategic Study which he claimed Buhari possessed was not listed in the President’s CV.
Under cross-examination by APC’s lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Kyari, however maintained that Atiku was a Cameroonian by being born in Jadda in 1946, as of the time of which the part of Adamawa State was still a part of Northern Cameroon.
He also identified Buhari in a picture of those who were said to be the President’s classmates and teachers while graduating as a Class 6 pupil in 19.
Before Kyari was 77 year-old retired civil servant and President Buhari’s classmate Suleiman Mai’Yaradua.
He sauntered into the courtroom clutching a picture frame showing 1961 graduates of Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, with the teachers and principal of the school.
The witness who identity himself and Buhari in the group photograph also told the tribunal that the picture which was taken in 1961 also has former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Abdullahi Umaru who he said was their classmate.
He told the tribunal under cross-exammination that Buhari enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1961.
Mai’ Yar Adua who admitted that pictures are not the same thing as certificates said he know that Buhari has two certificates.
The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had filed the petition before the tribunal to challenge the victory of President Buhari and his All Progressives Congress in the February 23, 2019 poll.
Part of the grounds of the petition was that Buhari did not possess the academic qualification necessary to contest the poll.
