Kaduna Govt Moves To Save LG Boss Over Forgery

Nigeria’s  Kaduna State Government has intervened in the case of certificate forgery preferred against the Chairman of Soba Local Government, Alhaji Kawu Yakasai.

The government took over the case shortly after Chief Magistrate Garba Abdullahi ruled against an application by the defendant to dismiss the case.

The case was filed on Nov. 29, 2012 by Mustapha Musa and Ubale Telan-Matasa and was adjourned three times. The complainants contended that the WAEC results purportedly issued at Barewa College, Zaria in the name of the chairman was forged.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, the State Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Gamali Yakore told the court that the state government was taking over the case.

According to him, the government is interested in ensuring that the matter is settled out of court.

He said the action was in line with Section 211 sub section 1 and 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which according to him enables the government to take over any criminal proceeding within the state.

Before the intervention, counsel to the defendant, Mr. D. I Habib had in his closing address prayed the court to dismiss the case.

He argued that the case in question had in no way “directly affected the complainants” and viewed it as “politically motivated and an unnecessary criminal trial.”

The prosecution counsel, Mr. Garba Shehu, however, countered that Section 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code had given individuals the power to institute criminal proceedings.

The chief magistrate dismissed the request of the defendant to terminate the case.

He was, however, made to hands off the case when the public prosecutor intervened. Abdullahi fixed Feb. 27 for both parties to report back to the court the result of the out-of-court settlement requested by the public prosecutor.