An Abuja High Court yesterday quashed a criminal summon issued on September 12 by a magistrates’ court against Edo State governor-elect Sen. Monday Okpebholo, over alleged certificate forgery.

Justice Charles Agbaza, in a judgment, also voided the entire proceedings before Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar of a Wuse Magistrate Court in Abuja on grounds that the summon was issued in excess of his jurisdiction and error of law.

Justice Agbaza agreed with Okpebholo that the entire proceedings and the criminal summons were illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of his fundamental human right to fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Okpebholo had through his counsel, Andrew Emwanta, dragged Mr Honesty Aginbatse and Mukhtar before the court as 1st and 2nd respondents.

The development followed the criminal summons by Magistrate Mukhtar on Sept. 12, directing Okpebholo to appear in court on September 20, the eve of the governorship poll in Edo, over an alleged false statement on his date of birth brought against him by Aginbatse, an indigene of the state.
Okpebholo, the APC candidate in the election, was ordered to appear before the court at 12 noon.

He was accused of claiming conflicting dates of birth in his nomination forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the election.

Against the backdrop, Emwanta filed an originating summons before the FCT High Court marked: CV/4589/2024, seeking an order of certiorari to bring into the court for the purpose of being quashed, the entire proceedings and criminal summons issued on Sept. 12 by Mukhtar at the instance of Aginbatse.

The lawyer, in motion dated and filed on October 21, argued that the action was instituted to prevent Okpebholo from presenting himself as a candidate in the September 21 poll and to disqualify him on false grounds.