BY PETER DURU

MAKURDI – A Makurdi Federal High Court presided over by Justice Marcel Awokulehein, yesterday, stopped a Peoples’ Democratic Party’s, PDP, governorship contender, Terver Kakih, from tendering before it, a statement of result as well as West African Examinations Council, WAEC,  certificate allegedly belonging to Governor Gabriel Suswam.

Kakih is contesting the nomination of the governor as PDP’s flag- bearer for the 2011 gubernatorial election on grounds that Suswam lacked the prerequisite educational qualification to run on the platform of  PDP in the state.

The certificate rejected by the court was attached to a letter of protest he had purpotedly written to the National Chairman and National Working Committee, NWC, of PDP where he alleged that Suswam was not eligible to contest or emerge as the party’s flag-bearer.

Counsel to the governor, Jubrin Okutepa, SAN, had vehemently opposed the admissibility of the document, contending that since his client had stated that his certificate was missing, it ought to have been duly certified and paid for in line withSection 104(I& 2) of the Evidence Act; being a public document.

However, Counsel to Kakih, Simon Orkuma had noted that the certificate was not a public document stressing that it was duly certified.