For the charge of perjury to stick, Buhari must have (1) sworn an oath to tell the truth; and (2) intentionally made a false statement. He did swear an oath but did he intentionally make a false statement? Lawyers are going to have a field day!

It is very difficult to prove perjury charges because perjury is a crime of intent, which means that a defendant charged with perjury can only be found guilty if the prosecutor shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to make the false statement under oath.
Making a mistake or remembering facts inaccurately is not an intentional misstatement.

For Buhari to successfully defend himself all he simply has to say he made an error or mis-remembered the facts because it happened so long (50 years?) ago .

I doubt he will be disqualified based on his INEC application.

Ignorance is not an excuse in law.Learn fast.Buhari is liable and so will face disqualification.

omolami:
Ignorance is not an excuse in law.Learn fast.Buhari is liable and so will face disqualification.

besides buhari doesn't have the certificate in the first place he didn't site for waec so he cannot defend anything unless the judge plays abracadabra he's going to jail

I am not a lawyer, naa sidon look I dey. Suffice me to say GEJ till 2019.

omolami:
Ignorance is not an excuse in law.Learn fast.Buhari is liable and so will face disqualification.

You are right about not being able to use "ignorance" as an excuse but I never said he could claim ignorance. I said he could use "mistake" as a defense because "mistake" is an affirmative defense to the charge of perjury.

Mistake = blunder
Ignorance = lack of knowledge

If he made a mistake and misremembered pertinent facts then he could not have had the requisite intention to commit perjury. It will be interesting to see what his defense strategy is. PDP has to prove they he knew he was telling a lie.

Here's the quagmire: on one hand they’re claiming Buhari is senile and forgetful; and on the other hand, they will have to claim that he remembered what happened 50 years ago. So which is it?

OP is mixing 2 unrelated events!

Even if his certificate was with the military. Buhari can still be disqualified for not attaching his certs to INEC form CF001 as required law and INEC process. This is not a criminal offence and the maximum purnishment is disqualification!

The above is completely different from the case of perjury against him in which he claims his certificate is with army even though he possibly may not have one. This is a criminal case that could lead to imprisonment if found guilty!

The minimum outcome I see from this is Buhari will not take part in the election.

His financiers should withdraw their money and invest in 2019.

mikeansy:
...
The above is completely different from the case of perjury against him in which he claims his certificate is with army even though he possibly may not have one. This is a criminal case that could lead to imprisonment if found guilty!

My post was referring to his sworn affidavit about his certificate being with the military. Here'e the issue to be litigated as I see it:

Did Buhari commit perjury when he submitted his application to INEC as a presidential candidate?

Wallie:


My post was referring to his sworn affidavit about his certificate being with the military. Here'e the issue to be litigated as I see it:

Did Buhari commit perjury when he submitted his application to INEC as a presidential candidate?

But the basis of his disqualification before the law court is that he filled his form incorrectly and did not attach any certificate as required by law. Affidavit is not certificate and is not one of the options provided in the constitution!

This is the basis of his disqualification and he can't win that argument!

The perjury charge is independent of the above and boarders on criminality!

If he ever sat for WASC and can show his WASC then he can not be committed to prison for perjury as it will be difficult to prove that he did not misremember. But if he has no certificate with WASC but somehow listed WASC in his INEC forms while swearing an affidavit that he has WASC and it is with army then that's clear deception! He will go to prison unless Jonathan grant him pardon!

But note that he can be exonerated from perjury and still face disqualification!

Let us leave sentiments,Case name case.
imagine in a federal university like UNI IFE,that student wheey try am don't finish school be that.

@Wallie
I dont think perjury comes into play if what PDP wants is to take him out of contention.

I suspect PDP could try and argue that since he didn't fill the form properly he shouldn't have been considered as a candidate.

@mikeansy
@netotse

Do either of you have a link to the regulations in question? I saw some links being quoted some weeks ago but can no longer find it.

Following.

enugwunno:
besides buhari doesn't have the certificate in the first place he didn't site for waec so he cannot defend anything unless the judge plays abracadabra he's going to jail

You are very correct. I believe you.
Note that Buhari was head of that document office in 1978-1979 and would have claimed that his certificate was there at that time and therefore accuse the army for losing his certificate but he has not accused the army for losing his certificate. That is to say, he never had any in the first place. Buhari knows the truth but his APC crooks are stopping him from telling the truth.

@mikeansy
@netotse

I found the relevant sections:

Section 131 says: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty (40) years; (c )he is a member of a political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

“In Section 318, School Certificate or equivalent means (a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or (b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or
“(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and (i) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for a minimum of 10 years; and
“(ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year, and
“(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC); and “(d) Any other qualification acceptable by INEC.”

The out for Buhari is the "equivalent" requirement to the need for having a "School Certificate." What is deemed "equivalent" to a "school certificate"? Has this question ever been answered by the courts?

Assuming he's deemed to have an equivalent certificate, the next issue will then be his sworn affidavit. Like I said earlier, it is not easy to prove that someone perjured himself. This is not an open-and-shut case as some would think. Time for the lawyers to earn their pay! :-)

Wallie:
@mikeansy
@netotse

I found the relevant sections:





The out for Buhari is the "equivalent" requirement to the need for having a "School Certificate." What is deemed "equivalent" to a "school certificate"? Has this question ever been answered by the courts?

Assuming he's deemed to have an equivalent certificate, the next issue will then be his sworn affidavit. Like I said earlier, it is not easy to prove that someone perjured himself. This is not an open-and-shut case as some would think. Time for the lawyers to earn their pay! :-)

Buhari listed in his own INEC form that he has WASC but did not make the certificate available to INEC but went to obatain an affidavit that the documents he listed are with the Army.

I agree that the perjury case is tricky and can go either way but the fact that he gave an incomplete form to INEC and should not be considered a candidate is a cakewalk

mikeansy:


Buhari listed in his own INEC form that he has WASC but did not make the certificate available to INEC but went to obatain an affidavit that the documents he listed are with the Army.

I agree that the perjury case is tricky and can go either way but the fact that he gave an incomplete form to INEC and should not be considered a candidate is a cakewalk

that form is as useless as the p in psychology.since the ground norm of the law the constitution makes provisions for qualification,that of the electoral act is subject to that of the constition.since mr buhari has fulfilled that of the constitution all he needs now is to crossleg and continue sipping his kunnu.

That PDP lawyer na jeunjeun he just use jonathan make dole small.



Shout out to the pdpians here abeg i no mind make i chop small of the abuja dollars oh..

Tundeajani:
that form is as useless as the p in psychology.since the ground norm of the law the constitution makes provisions for qualification,that of the electoral act is subject to that of the constition.since mr buhari has fulfilled that of the constitution all he needs now is to crossleg and continue sipping his kunnu.

That PDP lawyer na jeunjeun he just use jonathan make dole small.

really?

jokers!

we shall see

mikeansy:


really?

jokers!

na so na, lawyers use pdp desperation to make money,even radionic will floor any pdp lawyer in this case be him san or tan

We all know PDP coerced the army to make the certificates disappear from his file.

1stCitizen:
We all know PDP coerced the army to make the certificates disappear from his file.

if the certificate exist Buhari will go to WASC to collect it please leave the Army out of it.

enugwunno:
besides buhari doesn't have the certificate in the first place he didn't site for waec so he cannot defend anything unless the judge plays abracadabra he's going to jail

Why are people taking ignorance to the extreme? Is it only WAEC that qualify somebody to contest for the position of president? It is only a fool that will believe that perjury case can be won against Buhari. Buhari said he has his certificates with military authority, who can fault this claim? Even if original is not with them, let the military authority come out to make f.o.o.l of themselves to tell us that they don't have copies of his certificates.

mikeansy:


if the certificate exist Buhari will go to WASC to collect it please leave the Army out of it.

Unfortunately for you, based on our constitution, it is not a must to have WASC to become the president of Nigeria. What is required is its equivalent.

LFJ:


Unfortunately for you, based on our constitution, it is not a must to have WASC to become the president of Nigeria. What is required is its equivalent.

Buhari listed WASC in his own INEC form and swore an affidavit to that effect. He is required by law to now produce evidence of it.

Failing that it is a clear case of deception.

Whether you look at it from the angle of deception or not providing supporting evidence in his INEC forms there is enough grounds for the courts to disqualify Buhari.

APC has missed the boat on this one as far as presidential election is concerned. They should prepare for 2019.

mikeansy:


Buhari listed in his own INEC form that he has WASC but did not make the certificate available to INEC but went to obatain an affidavit that the documents he listed are with the Army.

I agree that the perjury case is tricky and can go either way but the fact that he gave an incomplete form to INEC and should not be considered a candidate is a cakewalk

Where is the perjury in this case? He sworn that his certificates are with the military authority, can you honestly tell us that his certificates are not with the military, or how are you so sure that he gave them copies but they lost it? It is only a f.o.o.l that will believe that Buhari don't have copies of his certificates with the military.

mikeansy:


Buhari listed WASC in his own INEC form and swore an affidavit to that effect. He is required by law to now produce evidence of it.

Failing that it is a clear case of deception.

Whether you look at it from the angle of deception or not providing supporting evidence in his INEC forms there is enough grounds for the courts to disqualify Buhari.

APC has missed the boat on this one as far as presidential election is concerned. They should prepare for 2019.

What is deception in that? Yes, he swears that he has WASC in his INEC form. He is required by law to produce an evidence, what do you now think the affidavit represent? For whatever reason, he could not produce his certificate, one of which may be that the certificate was lost. This is where the ignorance of most of our people started, Buhari summited an affidavit to claim he has WASC, It is the responsibility of INEC to require Buhari to sign a form that gives them the permission to contact the institution concern to confirm the claim of Buhari. Is there any law that said your certificate cannot get lost or stole? Is there any law that prevent you from swear to an affidavit if you lost your certificate.

Please, let us be reasonable.

Wallie:


You are right about not being able to use "ignorance" as an excuse but I never said he could claim ignorance. I said he could use "mistake" as a defense because "mistake" is an affirmative defense to the charge of perjury.

Mistake = blunder
Ignorance = lack of knowledge

If he made a mistake and misremembered pertinent facts then he could not have had the requisite intention to commit perjury. It will be interesting to see what his defense strategy is. PDP has to prove they he knew he was telling a lie.

Here's the quagmire: on one hand they’re claiming Buhari is senile and forgetful ; and on the other hand, they will have to claim that he remembered what happened 50 years ago. So which is it?

Hmmmm... I think thats what he is going to use,he forgot his vp name,his phone number,the full meaning of INEC and his party name...
This man,is trying to play game but at the end,he will still be disqualified though it is going to be tough.

Guess he filled d form together wif jagaban of weed cum asiwaju of corruption in africa. Wad do ya expect wen an old sick man and a weed smoker sit down to fill a form! Disaster is always d outcome

LFJ:


What is deception in that? Yes, he swears that he has WASC in his INEC form. He is required by law to produce an evidence, what do you now think the affidavit represent? For whatever reason, he could not produce his certificate, one of which may be that the certificate was lost. This is where the ignorance of most of our people started, Buhari summited an affidavit to claim he has WASC, It is the responsibility of INEC to require Buhari to sign a form that gives them the permission to contact the institution concern to confirm the claim of Buhari . Is there any law that said your certificate cannot get lost or stole? Is there any law that prevent you from swear to an affidavit if you lost your certificate.

Please, let us be reasonable.

the bit in bold is a pure lie

it is buhari's responsibility to attach his certificate to his form like every one else

He will be disqualified accordingly

mikeansy:


the bit in bold is a pure lie

it is buhari's responsibility to attach his certificate to his form like every one else

He will be disqualified accordingly

I am not surprise to see that what I said is too complicated for you to understand. The only people who can easily understand what I said are those who understand what it means to do it right and who will love to see it done right.

In a place where things are done right, the question people will be asking now will not be about whether Buhari submits certificate or not, the major question will be, did INEC carry out independent investigation on the academic records of each of the candidates for this election as claimed by these candidates.

Whatever it is d court will let us know

LFJ:


I am not surprise to see that what I said is too complicated for you to understand. The only people who can easily understand what I said are those who understand what it means to do it right and who will love to see it done right.

In a place where things are done right, the question people will be asking now will not be about whether Buhari submits certificate or not, the major question will be, did INEC carry out independent investigation on the academic records of each of the candidates for this election as claimed by these candidates.

It is not necessary for INEC to investigate the records of the candidate as INEC have no power to disqualify anyone. This fact was established in the case between Atiku vs FG 2007. INEC's only remit is to publish the info as provided by the candidates. it is up to the members of the public to raise objections through the courts and this is what is happening. The law is being followed here and Buhari will be disqualified according to the laws of the land.