Fake WAEC certificate ‘injurious’ to Obono-Obla’s Law degree, reps told

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the legality of the operations of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), has been told that
chairman of SPIP, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla may have been admitted into the Nigerian Law School with a fake WAEC certificate.

This is as the Director-General of the Council for Legal Education, Prof. Isa Chiroma said yesterday, that if indeed Obono-Obla entered the Law School with a defective West African Examinations Council ( WAEC) result, it would be ” injurious” to his Law certificate.

Speaking during continued the investigation by the Aliyu Ahman -Pategi headed adhoc committee, Chiroma explained that the Law School only scrutinizes the university degree and not the ‘O’ Level results of its students.

**L-R, Rep. Toby Okechukwu, Rep. Aliyu Ahmed-Pategi and Rep.Onyemaechi Mrakpor( last right) during Thursday’s investigative hearing**

However, Chiroma, who attended the hearing with Mrs. Max- Uba, the Secretary and Director of Administration of the Council, promised to provide the records as directed by the committee before next week Thursday.

The committee had written the Nigerian Law School in a letter dated 5th July, 2018, that it had received a petition from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria against Mr. Ofem Okoi Ofem ( now known as Okoi Obono- Obla) the Chairman of the Panel ( SPIP) accusing him of forging the West African School Certificate Result which he used to gain admission to study law in the University of Jos.

The letter read in part: “During the investigative hearing on the matter, the West African Examination Council revealed that Mr. Ofem Okoi Ofem did not possess a credit pass in English Literature as claimed in his GCE O’ Level result issued by Mary Knoll College. A copy of the Authenticated result by WAEC and the statement of result by Mary Knoll College are attached.

” The committee therefore requests that you furnish it with the admission records of Mr. Ofem Okoi Ofem who was called to the Bar on May 17th 1991 with Roll No: 18323.

“The record must include his West African School Certificate Result and the University degree certificate.”

Recall that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which earlier appeared before the panel, described as “altered and invalid” the results and certificate it allegedly issued to Obono-Obla.

Testifying before the committee WAEC Registrar, represented by the Deputy Registrar, Mr Femi Ola, said available evidence indicated that the results were “altered” and thus “invalid.”