Certificate forgery: Supreme Court denies APC, YPP, NNPP appeals against A’Ibom Gov.

On Thursday, the Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno Bassey’s election was declared void due to purported certificate forgery, according to three different petitions filed with the Supreme Court by potential contenders for governor.

The petitions were submitted by the candidates for governor of Akwa Ibom on March 18, 2023, from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Progressive Party (YPP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Lead attorneys for each party withdrew their individual appeals when the Supreme Court’s panel of Justices hinted that they lacked substance.

When the APC and its candidate, Akanimo Udofia, withdrew, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji dismissed the petitions. The YPP and its candidate, Akpan Albert Bassey, and the NNPP and its candidate, John James Akpan Udoedehe, also withdrew.

The Supreme Court was persuaded by the attorneys in the case in vain that the governor had falsified his secondary school certificate and that “Emo Eno Bassey” and “Bassey Eno Emo” were not the same person.

Their arguments, particularly the forgery claims, did not sit well with the justices of the supreme court, who questioned the attorneys about whether the West African Examinations Council, or WAEC, had provided proof to support the criminal accusations.

The attorneys chose to individually withdraw the appeal because it was acknowledged that WAEC had not testified in the case.

Since there were no objections from attorneys representing the various respondents, Justice Abba-Aji dismissed them as a result.

The Supreme Court did not award cost against any of the lawyers to the appellants, having voluntarily withdrawn their suits on basis of want of merit.

The victory of Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State in the March 18, 2023, governorship election was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Lagos in November of last year

Three different appeals against the governor’s election were dismissed by the appellate court in its ruling.

The appeal filed by YPP governorship candidate Bassey Akpan and his party against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Eno, and the PDP was dismissed by the three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court, led by Festus Obande, even though they upheld the September 28, 2023 rulings of the election petition tribunal.

In addition, Justice Obande rendered rulings in support of the governor against the appeals of APC candidate Akanimo Udofia and NNPP candidate John Udoedehe.

All three of the appeals were found to be without merit by the appellate court in its unanimous rulings.