By Election Tribunal: Atiku Petitions UK Police, DSS Over Buhari’s Cambridge Certificate
Edwin Eriye
The London Metropolitan Police Service and the Department of State Services (DSS) have received petitions to investigate the documents tendered by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential election tribunal.
Atiku Abubakar, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, in the February 23presidential election had tagged the certificate as ‘equivocal’
Abba Kyari, Buhari’s chief of staff, had told the election tribunal that the president’s “assessment” documents were obtained from Cambridge University.
The lawyer questioned the authenticity of the “certifying assertion” said to have been gotten from the Cambridge Assessment International Education.
He implored the United Kingdom police and the DSS to investigate the following: “Where did Mr. Abba Kyari get the certificate which he enclosed alongside his application form for the issuance of the said certifying statement which he claimed he obtained from Cambridge Assessment International Education.
“Whether Mr. Abba Kyari as an individual can apply for the said certifying statement not being an academic institution or an employer of the candidate.
“Whether the said certifying statement can be delivered to Mr. Abba Kyari by hand as he claimed he signed and personally collected same by hand in the UK.
“Evidence of the said application and of the candidate’s authorization to the Cambridge Assessment Education for the release of the said certifying statement to Mr. Abba Kyari.”
“In the circumstances that the certifying statement is found to be forged, it will be of great service to both Nigeria and the United Kingdom that Mr. Abba Kyari is arrested and arraigned in a court of competent jurisdiction for forgery”, he added.
Atiku and PDP had claimed to have established the fact that Buhari does not possess the requisite academic qualification for the position of President of Nigeria; this claim was made in a 43-page final address filed by their lead counsel, Dr. Levy Uzoukwu SAN.
The Final address which was filed on August 14 held that the petitioners said even Buhari’s own witnesses under cross examination admitted to the fact that Buhari does not hold a school certificate, which is necessary for contesting for the office of the president.
“We therefore submit that all the purported evidence led by Buhari to prove that he attended a secondary school or a primary school or that he attended some courses, is irrelevant because he did not rely on any of those purported qualifications in exhibit P1, he relied on primary school certificate, WASC and Officer Cadet.
“Equally futile is his attempt to prove that he can speak and write in English Language. That is all irrelevant to his inability to produce his primary school certificate, secondary school certificate or WASC and his Officer Cadet qualification or certificate under the Constitution and Electoral Act; nor is it known to any law. On the purported Cambridge University certificate tendered by Buhari before the tribunal, the petitioners asked why, “it was more convenient for Buhari to go all the way to Cambridge in UK to obtain a bogus document that his own witnesses said was not a certificate, instead of just driving down the streets in Abuja to the Army Headquarters or placing a phone call to the Secretary of the Military Board in Abuja to hurry over with his certificates”.
