A move designed to put to rest the certificate scandal involving All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), seems to have backfired, with holes being spotted in the certificate allegedly released by Government College Katsina.

Eagle-eyed readers have been raising posers since the certificate (actually a statement of result) was published this evening by PREMIUMTIMES online newspaper, which said it obtained it exclusively.

Buhari had earlier in the day told a press conference in Kano: “I (have) formally requested my old school the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina (which is now known as Government College, Katsina) to make available the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge/West African School Certificate. This will be made available to the press the moment this is available.

“However, before we obtain that, let me say for the record that I attended Provincial Secondary School, Katsina. I graduated in 1961 with many prominent Nigerians, including General Shehu Yar’Adua, former chief of staff at the Supreme Headquarters, and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, a former President of the Court of Appeal. We sat for the University of Cambridge/WASC Examination together in 1961, the year we graduated. My examination number was 8280002, and I passed the examination in the Second Division.”

Critics have, however, questioned the genuineness of the certificate, observing, for instance, that it has an adult passport photo of Buhari and was issued on the letterhead of the Katsina State Ministry of Education, while there was no Katsina State as at 1961 when Buhari finished secondary school.

“It needs proper forensic investigation. Look at the passport on the certificate. Is it 1961 passport? And if you take a careful look at the certificate, you will see that some of the things are written in ink,” human rights activist Emeka Umeagbalasi, a criminologist, told News Express.

Critics have also been having a field day on social media. Olaiya Temitope Templer wrote in a Facebook comment, “QUESTION: Why is the result released by the army yesterday different from those released by the school, particularly in Mathematics?”

On his part, Enyinnaya E. Appolos wrote: “Who is compounding Buhari’s scandal? Whoever did this forged document for Buhari is a big fool. Mere looking at the picture of Buhari here will tell you that there is no way he is looking this old in 1961. This is scandal and fraud upon fraud. Buhari should just forget it. This document here is forged.”

Buhari had earlier claimed that the certificate was in the custody of the Nigerian Army but army spokesman Olajide Olaleye yesterday denied the claim.

•Photo shows the certificate.

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