First defence witness disappoints Buhari, tells Tribunal – We didn’t submit our certificate to Army

President Muhammadu Buhari may have suffered relative setback in opening his defence at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja on Tuesday.  National Daily learned that a career mate of President Buhari in the Nigerian Army, Major General Paul Tarfa (retd), who appeared as the first defence witness, told the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal that the claim that he and people of his set were requested to hand over their school certificates to the Nigerian Army during their enlistment in the military in 1962 was false.

Retired General Tarfa was invited to testify as Buhari’s first defence witness in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the Saturday, February 23, 2019 presidential election which President Buhari emerged winner.

National Dailylearned that thatr responding to cross-examination by counsel to the INEC, Yunus Usman (SAN), Tarfa admitted that he was enlisted in the Nigerian Army the same time with Buhari and others on April 16, 1962. He confirmed that the medium of instruction “was English language and English language alone.”

He also confirmed that he and Buhari “passed the examinations in flying colours.”

On further cross-examination, retired General Tarfa identified some people in his set with whom he and Buhari were enlisted in the Army to include, Brigadier Generals Ola Oni, Duro Ajayi; Col. A.C. Ojukwu, the late Brig-Generals, Abdullahi Sellem and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.

When asked by the counsel to INEC to confirm if “You and other course mates were asked to hand over your certificates to the Nigerian Army during your enlistment;” Tarfa responded: “There was nothing like that.”

National Daily also learned that Counsel to the petitioners, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), after one question for the witness, thanked him “for being truthful.”