An Abuja High Court has dismissed a criminal summons issued on September 12 by the Wuse Magistrate Court against Edo Governor-Elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, related to alleged certificate forgery.
Justice Charles Agbaza, delivering the ruling on Friday, declared that the proceedings led by Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar were void, citing jurisdictional overreach and legal errors in issuing the summons.
Justice Agbaza sided with Okpebholo’s counsel, who argued that the summons and related proceedings were unconstitutional and infringed upon Okpebholo’s right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the amended 1999 Constitution. The judge emphasized that the magistrate’s actions were beyond his jurisdiction.
The case stemmed from allegations by Aginbatse, an Edo State indigene, claiming Okpebholo made a false statement about his date of birth on his nomination form for the Edo governorship election. Magistrate Mukhtar had ordered Okpebholo to appear in court on September 20, shortly before the state’s election.
In response, Okpebholo’s lawyer, Andrew Emwanta, filed a motion on October 21, arguing that the criminal summons was an attempt to disqualify his client from the September 21 election under false pretenses. Emwanta sought a court declaration that the summons and proceedings were unconstitutional, alongside an order prohibiting further action by the magistrate in Case No. CR/W22/816/2024, which was initiated by Aginbatse.
Emwanta contended that as the matter was pre-election related, only the Federal High Court held jurisdiction under Section 29 of the law.
Justice Agbaza agreed with Emwanta’s argument, stating that the magistrate should have reviewed Okpebholo’s evidence before issuing the summons. Consequently, the judge barred further proceedings in the case by the magistrate.
However, Justice Agbaza noted that the magistrate retained the discretion to set a hearing date if necessary.
