Renowned Criminologist and governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the just concluded general election in Delta State, His Excellency, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi FNIM, OON, has dragged the State governor and candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Sheriff Oborevwori to the cleaners over alleged falsified gazette belonging to the Federal government of Nigeria.
Oborevwori on 31st January 2023, under oath when he was docked, sworn that all he would say in the court is the truth and nothing but the truth.
In his paragraph 24 of his witness deposition, he referred to a Deed Poll made on 7th July 2011, where he corrected the arrangement of his names.
Also in paragraph 25 of his witness statement on oath, he referred to a Public Notice number 126 published in the Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Observer newspaper of 30th January 2004, a Deed Poll made on the 7th July 2011 with a Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) receipt and a Public Notice number 126 published in the Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Investigation revealed that in suit No: FHC/ASB/CS/3/23, between Chief Ikie Aghwarianovwe and PDP & Ors, the 2nd Defendant (Oborevwori), allegedly submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in his INEC Form CF001 filled for 2019 election and Form EC9 for 2023 regarding his age, and also regarding the variations in his name.
The Deed Poll which was executed as far back as 2011 and which was Gazzetted before the primary elections were held as (Exhibit D3) competently legalizes the 2nd Defendant’s name variations in which he has now stated that he wishes to be addressed as Oborevwori Sheriff Francis Orohwedor.
But speaking on KAFTAN TV, Abuja, on ‘The Conversation’, platform, the SDP flag bearer who threw intellectual light on the alleged forged Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by Oborevwori, said: “On 31st of January 2023, SAN Dodo, took Sheriff Oborevwori, to the dock and you know the first thing he does is to swear to an oath, claiming to be Christian, so he sworn that every and anything he going to say before this court, is the truth and nothing but the truth.
“So, he was admitted and he was led in the evidence, on that day, he presented three documents. The FIRS receipt, the fake gazette. He went stole a gazette, tried to obliterate the value of the gazette, superimposed his photograph in the gazette and tender it.
“That gazette sort to correct the over 11 forgeries of names, birth, certificates. The purpose of that gazette is to use the federal government document to cover it”.
Quoting Justice Shade, Gbagi said: “this gazette as presented has reconcile and corrected so to speak all the anomalies in the names but unknowing to this great judge, the gazette itself, is fake.
“The gazette he tendered based upon the decision of Justice Shade that all is corrected is fake, the man faked it, he stole it So, the judgement of Justice Shade, has collapsed and it is the same judgement that Justice Ige of the Court if Appeal, relied on to say look, this person has brought a gazette and the gazette has corrected everything unknowing to them that the gazette was fake.
“He stole them. So, the judgement of Justice Ige, has collapsed. It is the same gazette or what have you that they took to the Supreme court, misleading the Supreme court, fraudulently to obtain that judgement. So, all that is gone to no issue.
“Now, the Head of Service upon our request in writing, wrote back to us and said the gazette as presented by Sheriff in May 2022, as gazette coming… there’s only one authority in Nigeria, and any country in the world that produces gazette, is the federal government, that that gazette as presented, is fake.
“It did not emanate from them, it is not their document. Went further and released to us draft gazette that will be produced in future, which has not been produced. That the entire year, 2022, we did not produce any gazette.
“The federal government under the office of the Head of Service did not produce any gazette, gave us a letter and went further to attach what will be produced after vetting if at all, most probably not in 2023.
“So, that makes nuisance, a further criminal act of trying to pervade justice, mislead the entire process of our laws. So, it was this document we tried to tender at the tribunal and the tribunal judge was looking for a known authority for us to do so
“That trial of 31st of January as led by Dodo SAN which is just to mislead the court but by the grace of God, we have unearth document, we have published it and we have told the world that this is fake. The Head of Service has said it is fake, so everything they got on the basis of that fake document, remains fake”, Gbagi declared.
It would be recall that the attached letter from the Office of the Head Of Civil Service of the federation, dated July 28th 2023, in response to a letter dated 26th July 2023, requesting for the verification of the Gazette dated 5th May 2022.
The letter says: “I wish to confirm that the said Gazette did not emanate from this office. Gazette for 5th May 2022, is still at author’s proof state and has not been printed”.
