The alleged certificate forgery brought against the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has already been terminated by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in Abuja.
The termination of the allegation by the AGF office followed the report of the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, DPPF, to the effect that the allegation of the primary school leaving certificate cannot be sustained in any law court.
These facts are contained in a counter affidavit filed by an Abuja lawyer, Mr Charles Okoye against the fresh Direct Criminal Complaint of certificate forgery brought against the AMAC boss by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Awalu Tanko Mohammed, in suit No. AB/ CR/DUT/324/2025, before a Magistrate Court in Abuja.
Okoye, while challenging the jurisdiction of Magistrate Abdullahi Ilelah, to assume trial in the certificate forgery allegation said in the counter affidavit that such an action by any court in the country would be an affront to the authority and powers of the AGF, as donated in the 1999 Constitution.
The defendant's lawyer in the counter affidavit said the Criminal Investigation Department, CID, FCT Police Command, Abuja, had upon completion of its investigation into the alleged certificate forgery presented its report to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, for review and possible next line of action.
He said the DPPF, after reviewing the findings of Police operatives, came to the conclusion that the certificate forgery allegation cannot be substantiated in any law court as no concrete evidence was attached to the petition as an exhibit.
Okoye maintained that based on the findings of the DPPF and the subsequent recommendation, the office of the AGF terminated the complaint forthwith and therefore charged Magistrate Ilelah to discountenance the fresh Direct Criminal Complaint filed by the aggrieved APC chieftain before the court.
Similarly, the counsel stated that the issue of primary school certificate forgery was raised in 2022 at the AMAC Election Petition Tribunal and was dismissed for want of merit by the tribunal.
The lawyer maintained that masquerading the same allegation under any guise is a mere waste of the precious judicial time of the Magistrate Court and a ploy to settle old scores with the AMAC boss.
At Thursday's proceedings, the AMAC chairman could not attend the court due to his appointment with the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical checkups.
His counsel, Charles Okoye told Magistrate Ilelah that he had already written a letter on the reason for AMAC chairman's absence in court and prayed the court for an adjournment of the proceedings.
Counsel to the complainant, Mr Job Peter Israel did not object to the adjournment request but however stated that the medical report attached to the application for adjournment should not be believed by the court.
In the instance of the two lawyers, Magistrate Ilelah fixed May 23, for either arraignment or mention of the Direct Criminal Complaint.
