PUNCH
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has been summoned by a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja for allegedly making a false statement on his date of birth.
A document sighted by Saturday PUNCH showed that Okpebholo was asked to appear before the court at 12 noon on Friday, September 20 by Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar.
He is accused of claiming conflicting dates of birth in his nomination forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest the election.
“Whereas your attendance is required to answer to a charge of making a false statement on oath, you are summoned to appear in person before the Magistrate Court at Wuse Zone 2 on the 20th of September, 2024, at 12 noon,” the summons read.
The case, with suit no CR/W22/816/2024, was instituted by an indigene of Edo State, Honesty Aginbatse, who alleged that Okpebholo claimed he was born on 29/08/1970 in the form submitted to INEC, while another document submitted by him states 29/08/1972 as his date of birth.
Aginbatse said, “The defendant, on 24/03/2024, submitted a list of his personal particulars dated 05/03/2024 to INEC wherein he made a statement in item number 4 in Part B, stating that he was born on 29/08/1970. A certified true copy (C.T.C) of the list of personal particulars submitted to INEC by the defendant is attached to this complaint and marked as Exhibit B.”
