Multiple Names: Tribunal Absolves Deputy Speaker of Fraudulent Act, Dismisses Petition Against Him

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia 

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu,
did not commit any fraudulent act for using and changing multiple names at different points in time.

This was the verdict delivered Tuesday by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, in Petition No. EPT/AB/HR/16/2023 filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Iheanyi Frank Chinasa.

The tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

The petitioners had gone to the tribunal seeking to void the re-election of Kalu on the ground that he was not qualified to have contested in the February 25, 2023 National Assembly election for Bende federal constituency.

According to them, the deputy speaker did not possess the requisite school certificate given that different names were used in all his certificates from primary to tertiary level of education.

The same variety of names also applied in his Law School and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

But in a unanimous judgment read by the chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Samson Paul-Gang, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove that the certificates did not belong to Kalu.

The tribunal said that since the certified true copies of the various certificates belonging to the first respondent (Kalu) that were tendered by the petitioners did not emanate from the issuing authorities, the documentswere inadmissible.

To further explain its verdict, the tribunal held that a party who is not a maker of a document is not competent to tender same in evidence, hence the court can only rely on credible evidence and not mere speculations.

It also noted that in proving their case, the petitioners did not bring any staff of the issuing authorites to testify before the tribunal.

According to the tribunal, Kalu could not be deemed to have engaged in certificate forgeries since he had harmonised his names through a deed poll published in a federal gazette, and backed with a newspaper publication of change of name.

Therefore, it held that since “Okezie” constantly appeared in all the multiplicity of names used by the first respondent, the harmonisation of his name to read “Benjamin Okezie Kalu” was validly done.

The petitioners had, through their lead counsel, Yunusa Ustaz Usman (SAN), argued that the frequent change of names by the first respondent was done with fraudulent intentions and he should not be allowed to get away with it.

“It is fraudulent for one person to allegedly bear several names with various/plethora of affidavits and documents of changes of names that he uses chamelonically to suit his changing environment,” the tribunal held.

However, in countering the petioners’ argument, Kalu’s counsel, Kelvin Nwufo, said that having “validly harmonised” his names, the issue of inconsistencies no longer hold water as the name he is identified with legally belongs to him.

In his reaction to the tribunal judgment, the first petitioner, Chinasa, described it as “unfair”, hinting that he might take the matter higher to the appellate court.

“Definitely, it is not the end of the matter. We are confident that we will get better hearing at appeal,” he said.

Meanwhile, a mild drama played out in the other petition filed against Kalu by the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Ifeanyi Igbokwe.

Igbokwe came to the tribunal for the first time and claimed that he was not party to the petition No. EPT/ AB/REP/17/2023, saying that he was impersonated.

The petition was filed by AA on the ground that its logo and name of its candidate were excluded from the ballot papers and result sheets by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It is left to be seen what impact his disowning the petition would have since proceedings were concluded last week and judgment reserved by the tribunal.