Kaduna: ABU, NECO, others didn’t testify against me at tribunal — Sen Usman

The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Lawal Usman, has debunked insinuations that the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), the National Examinations Council (NECO), and others testified against him at the Kaduna Elections Petitions Court in the case challenging his eligibility to contest the February 25 national assembly election.

Speaking through his Senior Legislative Assistant, Dahiru Umar, in a statement made available to the media in Abuja on Sunday, he lamented that there was an attempt to deliberately misconstrue Saturday’s proceedings in court presided over by Justice HH Kereng regarding the testimonies from subpoenaed witnesses.

According to the statement, whereas what had been put in the public space is that the witnesses testified against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator, a recording of the cross-examination suggests otherwise.

The proceeding was in respect of the case filed before the court by the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Mohammed Abdullahi, to challenge the eligibility of Sen Usman who is the respondent.

The statement pointed out that Barrister Echeoga Ogbu, who is part of the legal team of Senator Usman and present in court on the day in question, had also affirmed that the witnesses under cross-examination by MA Mahmoud Sani, SAN, indeed testified in favour of the PDP Senator.

The statement added: “The testimonies of the witnesses, however, further reinforced the position of the respondents (PDP) on all the three-count allegations brought before the court for determination.

“The petition borders on substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines by the respondents (INEC).

“The claim by APC of irregularities which substantially affected the outcome of the elections. They hinged their arguments on over-voting in favour of PDP and its candidate.

“The second petition was on the qualification of the PDP candidate, to wit where they claimed the candidate’s educational credentials were forged.

“Finally, the petitioners claimed that the PDP candidate was not validly nominated to represent his party as its candidate since he did not win the party primaries of the PDP by reason of over-voting by the delegates.

“Under cross-examination, an attorney from the Ahmadu Bello University and an Associate Professor Ishaq from the Faculty of Law, who represented the Vice-Chancellor of the University, testified that Lawal Adamu Usman was a student of the institution from National Diploma level to B.Sc in Public Administration.

“The second witness, Esther Bala Wuyaa, who is a Director, Special Duties of the National Examination Council (NECO), testified before the court that Lawal Adamu Usman sat for and obtained the result, affirming that the document emanated from NECO.

“The testimony by the Demonstration Secondary School was discountenanced by the Senator’s lawyer, as he clarified that his client neither claimed nor attended the prescribed school.

“According to the lawyer, his client attended Diamond Academy, Zaria, and Amir Abdulkarim Tahfizul Qur’an, Zaria, where he satisfied the requirement for the award of a Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate (SAISSC) issued by the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS). The result was gazetted in 2015.

“The primary school he attended was Demonstration Primary School, Gwagwalada, Abuja, in 1986. The Sarkin Jere enrolled him on the school, and he bore the name Lawal Abdullahi Jere (Jere being the name of his hometown in Kagarko Local Government Area).

“He, however, swore to an affidavit on the 3rd of January 2003 changing his name to that of his father, Adamu Usman. Since then, his name has been consistent. He has tendered sufficient evidence to prove this assertion.

“The third witness, Haj Fatima of the Legal Department of INEC testified that the only candidate known to INEC is Lawal Adamu Usman as the Supreme Court had adjudicated and adjudged him the candidate. A copy of the Supreme Court judgment was tendered in evidence.

“She went further to tender the results of the 3356 polling units in the senatorial constituency election where she affirmed that there was no iota of over-voting. Her testimony led to the closure of the petitioners’ case.”

Recall that media reports had suggested that several witnesses including ABU, NECO, and primary and secondary schools that the PDP senator claimed to have attended were called to testify against him during Saturday’s proceedings at the court.

The case has been adjourned to the 11th of July for the respondents to open their case.

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