TheCable

Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has released certified true copies (CTC) of court documents issued on a Saturday.

Ibe and Phrank Shaibu, an aide to Atiku on public communication, displayed the documents obtained from a Lagos court at a press briefing on Sunday.

Atiku’s WAEC certificate bears Siddiq Abubakar and this has continued to generate heated debate on social media after it became widely known.

Explaining the discrepancy in his name, Atiku said he used the name “Siddiq” when he wrote his WAEC, stressing that he later swore an affidavit in 1973 to declare that “Abubakar Sadiq” and “Atiku Abubakar” are the same person.

“Yes I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams, I went to swear an affidavit to say I am the same person as ATIKU Abubakar,” the former vice-president said.

“I went to ABU as Atiku Abubakar and passed my Exams as Atiku Abubakar. Interviewed as Atiku Abubakar by the Federal Civil Service Commission and hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So, where is forgery there?”

However, some skeptics and opposition party members had questioned the legitimacy of the affidavit dated August 18, 1973, claiming that courts do not convene on Saturdays.

Speaking on Sunday, Ibe and Shaibu displayed court documents issued on Saturdays of the same year Atiku obtained his affidavit.

“We conducted research into the registry of the Lagos state high courts in the same year, 1973, to see if it was really an absurdity to have court papers signed on a Saturday,” Ibe said.

“The outcome of our findings showed clearly that there are court papers that were signed on Saturdays in the year 1973! Atiku Abubakar’s affidavit was not the only one signed on Saturday as the corn-men would want you to believe.

“We hope that this discovery into Atiku’s Saturday affidavit by his own media team will rest this issue and provide the opportunity for Bola A. Tinubu’s team to come clean with its decades of forgeries and lies. Nigerians are waiting for them to put an end to this kindergarten Tom and Jerry that has done nothing but bring embarrassment and humiliation to our country and its people.“

The development comes amid a certificate forgery allegation against President Bola Tinubu.

Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll and the judgment of the tribunal that upheld the president’s victory on September 6.

The PDP candidate has consistently alleged that Tinubu’s educational records are fraught with discrepancies and forgeries.

His request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.

Atiku has applied to the supreme court to file fresh evidence from his discovery of the president’s academic records. 

The supreme court is scheduled to hear the appeal on Monday (today).