During proceedings today at the election petition tribunal sitting in Umuahia, one Mr Acho Obioma popularly called Chomen, tendered a document purporting same to be Alex Otti’s NYSC discharge certificate.
Sadly, all he did was to serve Otti his remaining blood tonic after death.
1. What is in contention is the “reference letter” submitted by Otti to INEC as against a discharge or exemption certificate recognized by law. It is no longer a question of whether he served or not. It is also not about whether he has certificate or not but rather what he submitted to INEC under oath.
2. Mr Obioma is neither the maker of the document nor the owner of the document. He has no locus in law to submit same as only the maker or owner can validly do so. In fact, Acho Obioma should explain how he got a document that the owner claimed under oath that he does not have.
3. Assuming but not conceding that the document submitted today is authentic, it does not help Otti because he signed a form with INEC wherein he claimed to have given truthful information under oath. In that form he simply told INEC that all he has from NYSC is a reference letter. Changing that statement in court means he has lied under oath and that’s enough for the tribunal to sack him immediately.
If someone succeeds in drinking medicine after death it will only help him if the medicine is strictly for embalming the dead.
