According to him, the third party has not denied issuing the certificate to the President.
Festus Keyamo (SAN), Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation has said that President Bola Tinubu got his contentious Chicago State University certificate from a third party.
According to him, the third party has not denied issuing the certificate to the President.
Keyamo, therefore, added that it is the job of Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential party, to get in touch with the third party and get evidence that Tinubu forged the certificate as alleged by the former Vice President.
Atiku had asked a United States court to order CSU to make Tinubu’s academic records available to him, accusing the latter of forgery.
The court ruling favoured Atiku as it directed CSU to make Tinubu’s academic records available to the former Vice President’s lawyers last week.
Following the release of the academic records, Kalu Kalu, one of the lawyers representing Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, they had discovered five discrepancies in Tinubu’s academic records.
During a world press conference last Thursday, the legal team expressed confidence that the discrepancies discovered would make the Supreme Court upturn the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which earlier dismissed Atiku’s petition challenging Tinubu’s election.
However, Keyamo in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, said, “When some comments or perception of otherwise plain and simple issues are so moronic, mischievous or downright odious, they really do not deserve a response because you’d be dignifying idiocy. But let me drop this here for posterity:
“I have been a defence and prosecution lawyer at the highest level in criminal trials for more than 30 years. YOU CANNOT ALLEGE OR PROVE FORGERY EXCEPT THE PURPORTED MAKER OF THE DOCUMENT DENIES ITS AUTHENTICITY OR THERE IS UNCONTRADICTED EVIDENCE OF A FORENSIC REPORT THAT CATEGORICALLY SAYS THE DOCUMENT WAS DELIBERATELY ALTERED OR CONCOCTED BY THE PERSON WHO UTTERED (in a legal sense) OR ISSUED IT.
“Applying this principle to the case of Atiku Abubakar V Chicago State University, so long as the University openly said THEY DO NOT ISSUE REPLACEMENT CERTIFICATES, BUT THAT VENDORS DO SO ON THEIR BEHALF, all these noise about so-called forgery are useless until THE PARTICULAR VENDOR THAT ISSUED the replacement certificate to @officialABAT denies its authenticity. And it is the duty of the accuser to fish out the said vendor and get that evidence. It is not the other way round. He who alleges must prove.
“This is the simple principle I laid down in 2019 during our defence of President Buhari that has been so mischievously celebrated as if they have hit the bull’s eye. Unfortunately for them, @officialABAT is as clean and white as snow on this issue and we are again waiting for them at the Supreme Court.”
“As for ATIKU Abubakar (the famed SPV king and the one who disgraced Nigeria internationally with the money-laundering case involving Congressman William Jefferson), we acknowledge the valedictory speech he delivered a few days ago signifying his retirement from politics and we wish him godspeed in that retirement,” he added.