An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has reversed the judgment of a Federal High Court disqualifying the Deputy-Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo from participating in the Bayelsa State governorship election on November 16.
The judgement is as the result of Senator Degi-Eremienyo, who is now the deputy governor-elect, challenged the High Court verdict that restrained him from taking part in the recently concluded poll.
It was learnt that the judge held that all his documents bore different names.
According to him, the case which was brought under Section 36 of the Electoral Act is criminal in nature and the respondents in the case ought to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Senator Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in his form C001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of his qualifications to contest the election.
The trial judge concluded by saying that “I agree with the appellant that the owner of the school leaving certificate and the GCE certificate are one and the same and I therefore set aside the judgment of the court below.”
It would be recalled that Justice Iyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on November 12 disqualified the lawmaker for allegedly supplying false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of requirement for the governorship poll.
In a judgment, Justice Ekwo said Senator Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in relation to his educational qualifications and went ahead to depose to an affidavit to correct the discrepancies.
The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1101/2019 was instituted on September 18 by the opposition PDP, its governorship candidate in Bayelsa, Douve Diri, and Lawrence Ewhruojakpor
The judge ruled that the act amounted to giving false information in violation with Section 31(5) and (6) of the 2010 Electoral Act.
Justice Ekwo, who pointed that Form CF001 was a document validated by oath, said that “the consequence of lying on oath is grave.”
He noted that it had been held in Action Congress V. INEC (2007) “that where a candidate is found to have lied on oath, a court must issue an order disqualifying such a candidate from contesting the election.”
Upholding PDP’s case in his judgment, Justice Ekwo held that that Degi-Eremienyo presented documents of academic qualifications with various variations of names different from the name that appeared on his Form CF001.
The APC’s candidate was said to have claimed to have obtained “his First School Leaving Certificate in 1976” and presented to INEC “a First Leaving School Certificate of one Degi Biobaragha other than the one bearing his name Biobaragha Degi-Eremieoyo as shown in his INEC Form CF001.”
He was also said to have claimed to have “obtained his West African Examinations Council General Certificate of Education in 1984” and presented to INEC, “a GCE certificate of one Adegi Bibakuo other than the one bearing his name Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo as shown in his INEC Form CF001.”
The judge held that there was no evidence to prove that the documents with different name variations were his.
“I further hold that the information given by the 3rd defendant on Form CF.001 that the documents thereto attached as his have not by any iota of credible evidence been so established.
“The information is false in all material particular as none of the said documents have any nexus with the name of the 3rd defendant (Degi-Eremienyo) on the said Form CF001,” he said.
