By Shittu Tanko
The Plateau State Police Command has tendered three documents that confirmed the diploma certificate of Ibrahim Baba Hassan at the Jos division of the Federal High Court 2.
The police, through Sunday Baba, an inspector attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department, CID, Jos, told the presiding judge, Justice Musa Kurya, that following an investigation by the anti-robbery section of the CID, the documents were found to be genuine
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the document tendered are a letter from the University of Jos, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, dated February 25, 2016.
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The second document is a letter addressed to the Assistant Commissioner, state CID Jos, dated April 16, 2015, the third one is a police investigation report dated 28 June 2016.
Consequently, Justice Kurya ruled and marked the documents as exhibits DW 15, DW16 and DW 17, respectively.
In his testimony, Mr Hassan, who opened defence led by Defence Counsel Edwin B. Ede, also tendered original copies of his educational credentials and other documents to support his evidence.
Mr Hassan, who was a former deputy speaker of the Plateau State House Assembly, told the court that his diploma certificate, obtained from the University of Jos, was not “forged.”
He also tendered an original letter written to his counsel by the State of Commissioner Police.
During cross-examination by plaintiff counsel, David Ibeawuchi, Mr Hassan told the court that he obtained Diploma in business administration which he concluded and was issued the certificate in 1994.
“I attended two tertiary institutions, I went to the University of Jos, and I also went to the National Open University of Nigeria,” he added.
Mr Hassan said his University of Jos diploma certificate was used to apply for a degree in the same institution.
“When I graduated from the University of Jos, I used the same diploma certificate to gain admission for my BSc in Business Management from the same university,” he testified.
Mr Hassan further said he used the degree he obtained from the University of Jos, to gain admission for his Master’s Degree in the same University of Jos, disclosing that, “I am still using it to seek for my PhD admission into the university.”
He further testified that he studied at the NOUN and graduated in 2017, with another BSc.
Mr Hassan, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the case.
Defence counsel, Edwin B. Ede, further presented another witness, Aleyi Oloche, who also tendered two documents marked as exhibit DW 13 and 14.
He said during cross-examination that: “One is a letter written by myself of Aleyi Oloche and Co, by the instruction of my client, Ibrahim Baba Hassan to the registrar dated 16 July 2015.
“The other one a reply to the said letter from the University of Jos, in particular, the office of the registrar dated 27 July 2015, signed by Samuel C. Mwansat, the deputy registrar.”
He said based on the content of the reply from the University he was satisfied that the diploma certificate was not forged.
The first defendant, Ibrahim Baba Hassan, closed his defence.
Mr Hassan is standing trial in a 2015 pre-election suit filed against him by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Abdul Sale, his contender during the 2015 primary elections.
