The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned a former presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla, on charges of falsification and forgery of school results.
The agency arraigned Mr Obono-Obla at the Plateau State High Court in Jos, the jurisdiction where he was said to have tendered the allegedly forged results to be admitted to study law in the University of Jos (UNIJOS).
The result falsification and forgery charges were part of the 10 counts, including corruption allegations, initially instituted against him by the ICPC at the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 1, 2020. But the charges were subsequently withdrawn by the commission.
The anti-corruption agency then re-filed the 10 counts at the FCT High Court on July 8, 2020, with Mr Obono-Obla, his former Senior Assistant, Special Duties (Protocol), Aliyu Ibrahim, and the Managing Director of ABR Global Petroleum Resources Ltd, Daniel Omughele Efe, charged as co-defendants.
It again amended the charges on March 4, 2021, dropping the two charges of result forgery and falsification, as well as three other corruption counts.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The charges relating to result falsification and charges were dropped to be re-filed at the Plateau State High Court in Jos, considered to be the court covering the territorial jurisdiction where the result was allegedly tendered.
ICPC accused Mr Obono-Obla, in the fresh charges of forgery and falsification, of “a Mary Knoll College, Ogoja General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level, May/June 1982 (GCE) Statement of Result with candidate No: 09403/247 showing an O’Level credit (6) score for Literature in English.