Abubakar Mukhtar, a Justice of the Peace within the federal capital territory (FCT), has denied making any order disqualifying Monday Okpebholo, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state.
On September 13, Mukhtar summoned Okpebholo to seem earlier than the courtroom on September 20 to defend himself over an allegation of age falsification.
Within the go well with, Honesty Aginbatse, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP), alleged discrepancies within the delivery dates submitted by Okpebholo to the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC).
He additionally alleged that Okpebholo’s 2023 senate nomination type indicated his delivery date as March 29, 1970.
He added that the APC candidate’s governorship nomination types comprise conflicting delivery dates: August 29, 1970, on an age declaration, August 29, 1972, on his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificates, and August 1, 1977, on his INEC voter’s card.
On Friday, a doc broadly circulated on social media claimed the Justice of the Peace issued an order disqualifying the APC candidate.
Nevertheless, in a press release, the presiding Justice of the Peace described the knowledge as “false and deceptive”.
“It’s hereby ordered that most of the people be told that the story circulating relating to the purported disqualification of senator Monday Okpebholo from the Edo state governorship election because of age falsification and forgery is fully false and deceptive,” Mukhtar stated.
“No judgment has been delivered on this courtroom at present, and no verdict has been reached within the above-mentioned case.
“The allegations of age falsification and forgery towards Okpebholo are at the moment underneath investigation, and the defendant was summoned to seem earlier than this courtroom. The matter stays pending.
“Pursuant to part 133 of the Prison Code Act, Cap C38, Legal guidelines of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, spreading false data is punishable by imprisonment. This will likely be invoked on the author and writer of the faux judgment.”
