Photo: Alh. Ahmed Ododo.
Kogi gov’ship candidate charged with academic, age certificate forgery, risks 14years imprisonment
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, has been charged with academic and age certificate forgery.
Ododo is facing a criminal charge of alleged forgery of the documents he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election and risks 14 years in prison if found guilty.
According to the Court document obtained, dated October 27, 2023, the suit was filed by three complainants: Abdul Ibrahim, Israel Tochukwu and Husseini Odaudu, before a Chief Magistrates Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The complainants, who are all members of the APC in the state, are 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents, respectively, in the suit, which according to them, was brought pursuant to Section 89 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The complainants allege that the APC governorship candidate falsified his degree certificate, as his purported degree program was not accredited by the National Universities Commissions as of the time he claimed to have graduated from the university.
He is also accused of forging his putative father’s signature on the age declaration document, whose dates show Saturday and Sunday, considered work-free days for judicial workers in Nigeria.
The Court document reads as follows: “That the 1st complainant is a business man and a member of the All Progressives Congress who resides in Lokoja.
“That the 2nd Complainant is a business man and a member of the All Progressives Congress who resides in Lokoja.
“That the 3rd Complainant is a business man, Farmer and a member of the All Progressives Congress who resides in Lokoja.
“That the Defendant is a governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the upcoming Kogi State governorship election slated for 11 November, 2023.
“That the Complainants state that the Defendant submitted Fake/Forged declaration of age contained in his Form EC9 to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Headquarters in Abuja in aid of qualifying him to contest the next governorship election of Kogi State 2023.
“The Complainants’ state that the said declaration of age was deposed to by one Usman Ododo, on the 2/8/2003 which was on a Saturday when no judicial workers works or Court operates.
“The Complainants state that the said declaration of age was signed by the Defendant Usman Ahmed Ododo, himself instead of the declarant Usman Ododo.
“The Complainants state that the signature of the declarant appended on the said declaration of age is the same signature appended on the form EC9 Usman Ahmed Ododo, and resignation letter of Usman Ahmed Ododowithdrawing from the services of Kogi Auditor General for local government.
“The Complainants state that the Defendant also submitted a fake/forged BSc Certificate in Accounting (Forensic) allegedly obtained in 2014 from the Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State.
“That as at 2014 when the Defendant claimed to have graduated from the school, Accounting as a course was yet to be Accredited by the National Universities Commission.
“That the Accreditation of Accounting in the school was done in 2017, three years after the Defendant claimed to have graduated.
“That no University in Nigeria can graduate any student without the National Universities Commission’s approval.”
The Court has yet to fix a date for the commencement of hearing in the suit.
Meanwhile, Ododo and the APC leadership in the state could not be immediately reached for comments on the suit as of the time of filing this report.
