•Akeredolu
An Ondo state-based lawyer, Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, has picked a hole in the forensic report which allegedly found discrepancies in the signatures of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
The state commissioner for Energy, Rasaq Obe, had written to the deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, saying he uncovered the forgery of Akeredolu’s signatures after subjecting same to forensic analysis.
However, Emodamori, in a statement issued in Akure, said the purported forensic report named the client who requested the examination as the “Act for Positive Transformation Initiative”, and not the commissioner, reports The Nation.
Emodamori noted that either the commissioner or the purported forensic report was lying about who hired the services of the alleged forensic expert who supposedly produced the report.
He said the source of any document which the forensic expert claimed to have examined was very crucial in determining the issue of forgery.
The lawyer said the state was under a tense political atmosphere where mischief and foul practices could be easily deployed for political reasons.
Another fault observed by Emodamori was that his findings showed that the “Act of Positive Transformation Initiative” on whose behalf of the purported forensic expert claimed to have carried out the forensic examination, was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Emodamori stated that the non-jurist status of the “Act of Positive Transformation Initiative” rendered the purported forensic report a suspected fraudulent document or false certificate within the context of Section 105 of the Criminal Law of Ondo state.
He said there was no single line in the five-page forensic report stating the real identity of the documents allegedly examined by the forensic expert.
Another observation by Emodamori was that the letterhead containing the purported forensic report reads “Association of Forensic Practitioners of Nigeria”, and not the office address of any particular forensic expert but was signed by an individual in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the association.
He said: “How can a ‘forensic expert’ be using the name and address of an association on his letterhead as against the name and address of his own office or firm? It is like a lawyer using the letterhead of the Nigerian Bar Association to prepare legal advice, or a Medical Doctor using the letterhead of the Nigerian Medical Association to prepare a medical report instead of the letterhead containing the name and address of his own hospital.
“My seventh observation is about the political leaning of Engr. Rasaq Obi himself. The point is that political observers in the state may be right to assume or conclude that Engr. Rasaq Obe actually belongs to the Lucky Ayedatiwa faction. One would ask whether the above fundamental observations are enough to completely render the claims of Engr. Rasaq Obe incredulous.
“These crucial observations however symbolise red flags why the claims of the commissioner ought to be taken with a pinch of salt, unless and until same is properly investigated by the appropriate law enforcement agencies, in this case, the Police or State Security Services.
“Engr. Rasaq Obe himself would be the number one suspect in the course of such an investigation, while the purported forensic expert would also be very useful to the security agencies. The investigation should then be conducted on the owner of the alleged forged signature(s), who is the governor, as he alone could confirm whether his signature was forged on the subject documents or not.
“The confirmation or denial of Mr Governor would be the surest guide to further investigation into this matter. It would enable us to determine whether we are simply dealing with public officers raising very serious and most embarrassing allegations supported with fraudulent documents to achieve a political objective, or heroes and watchdogs to whom we should be collectively grateful for their vigilance and courage.”
