A former Deputy Speaker and current member representing
Jos-North state constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Honourable
Ibrahim Baba Hassan, has been docked before Honourable Justice J.U.A Musale of
High Court 31 of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Jabi, by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for
allegedly submitting a forged academic qualification to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest in the 2015 State Assembly
elections.
The lawmaker, who is presently a 3-time member of the
Plateau State House of Assembly, was said to have forged a Diploma in Business
Administration of the University of Jos, dated November 1996, and falsely
inserted his name as one of the graduands in the “Order of Proceedings of the
19th Combined Convocation Ceremony” of the said university held on 26th and
27th April 2002 which he presented to ICPC investigators.
Hassan who contested the 2015 Plateau State House of
Assembly election again and won, was arraigned on a 5-count charge of offences
bordering on forgery, lying under oath, intent to cause damage to the public
and making false statement with the intention to mislead.
In a Charge No: CR/136/17, the defendant was accused of
committing offences contrary to Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act, 2000, sections 157, 164, 363,366 of Penal Code Laws of
the FCT and punishable under Section 68 of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act, 2000 and sections 158 and 364 of the Penal Code.
The accused person pleaded not guilty to the charges brought
against him and in view of this, counsel to the accused, Solomon E. Umoh (SAN),
via an oral application, sought the relief of the court to grant his client
bail based on self-recognition. He averred that his client did not show any
recalcitrant attitude throughout the course of investigation.
However, ICPC’s counsel, Agbili Ezenwa Kingsley, opposed the
relief sought by the defence, arguing that the accused, as a political
office-holder, could be recalled by his constituents at any time and would lose
his privileged status. Kingsley therefore prayed the court to grant the accused
stringent bail conditions that would compel him to appear for hearings no
matter the circumstances.
Having listened to the submissions of both parties, the
trial judge ruled that the administrative bail which was granted to the accused
person by ICPC should subsist.
The case has been adjourned to July 3rd 2017 for
commencement of hearing.
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