Army dismisses officer who said Buhari’s certificate is missing

The Nigerian Army has dismissed the immediate past Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.Gen Olajide Laleye. Laleye was the one who briefed the press before the 2015 elections, claiming that Buhari’s school certificate was missing.

Laleye had said the Army could not find the results of the West African School Certificate Examination of Buhari, who was Nigeria’s military Head of State between January 1, 1984 and August, 1985. Buhari, who was contesting the presidential election as the candidate of the APC, had claimed, while submitting his nomination forms to the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2014, that his WASCE result was in the custody of the Army.

The Nigerian Army Council has also retired Brig.-Gen. Aliyu Momoh, who was indicted in the conduct of the 2015 elections in Ekiti State

The retirement of the senior officers was in connection with the recommendations of the panel set up by the Army authorities to look into allegations of professional misconduct against military personnel in the conduct of the June 14, 2014 governorship poll in Ekiti State and the 2015 general elections. The panel was also directed to investigate the roles played by the military officers who participated in the August, 2014 governorship election in Osun State.

After the results of the Ekiti governorship election was released, where the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, was declared the winner, there were allegations that the Army personnel deployed in the state, led by Momoh, played active roles in an alleged rigging of the poll.

An officer of the Nigerian Army, Capt. Sagir Koli, who participated in the supervision of the poll, had leaked an audio recording of a meeting, featuring Fayose, Momoh, former Minister of State for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro; former Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Jelili Adesiyan; and the PDP governorship candidate in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, among others, where the alleged rigging was hatched.

The individuals had stridently denied the rigging allegations.