Alleged WAEC Forgery: Court Orders Adeleke to Appear, Explain Why He Should Not Be Disqualified

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of Osun, Senator Ademola Adeleke to appear before it on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, to explain why he should not be disqualified from contesting the forthcoming governorship election on the platform of PDP.

The court also ordered the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to produce the ledger and serve all parties to the suit, the copy of the ledger containing the results of all candidates who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination along Adeleke in the May/ June, 1981 in Ede, Osun state within five working days.

The court’s order came on the heels of a suit filed before it by Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb who accused Adeleke of not eligible to contest the September 22, governorship election in the state because he does not have the constitutional requirement.

It was alleged that Adeleke was a dropout secondary school student and that the purported WAEC result being paraded by him is forged, as he has not sat down for any O’Levels examination.

The applicants in the suit registered FCT/HC/BW/CV/122/2018 with specific Motion FCT/HC/BW/M/282/2018 are challenging the validity and authenticity of the SSCE certificate held by Adeleke.

Presided over by Justice O.A. Musa, the court in its sittings on last Wednesday, ordered WAEC that the ledger must be accompanied with an affidavit deposed to by the headship of WAEC confirming or denying that Adeleke, a candidate with No 19645/149 sat for the SSCE exam in Muslim High School, Ede, actually sat for the exam.

In the ex-parte motion filed by counsels to the applicants, B.J. Akomolafe and A.O. Mohammed, the applicants had sought for an injunction restraining Adeleke from parading himself as the PDP candidate in the forthcoming election and an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising and giving effect to the nomination of Adeleke as candidate of PDP.

The presiding judge also gave an order granting leave to the applicants for a substituted service on Adeleke through the clerk of the senate and an order for abridging time of filling of processes and granting of accelerated hearing in the suit.