Adeosun: Mistake of Fact.

PRESS STATEMENT.

"lgnorantia juris non excusat - ignorance of law excuses no one"  is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating such law(s) merely because one has no knowledge of the law(s). "Ignoranta" is a familiar to layman and lawyers. ln the application of the maxim, "ignoranta" has been translated as "ignorance" and as "mistake" and these terms have generally been used interchangeably. It should be noted, however, that the two English words convey different ideas, of which their differences have been recognized in some instances.

Ignorance may be defined as lack of knowedge, whereas a "mistake" is a wrong conclusion frequently caused by insufficient knowledge. It is a fundamental principle of the criminal law, for which no authorities need be cited that the doer of a criminal act shall not be punished unless he/she  has a criminal mind. One who commits a criminal act under mistake of  fact has a defence because he or she has wrong or insufficient data for reasoning.

 There is no saving power in mistake itself. The fact that   Adeosun says "l was mistaken" does not necessarily indicate that she is not guilty. It is by showing the absence of the criminal mind due to her mistake that she escape punishment for her act. She must be applauded for her courage to open up. She was misled by the crooks at  NYSC. The body confirmed she applied for certificate of exemption. What was the reply.

 The NYSC reply could be simple and short, since Adeosun completed her course below 30 years of age, regardless of when she came back to Nigeria (even at 100 years of age) she must observe the one year compulsory youth service. If that had been done, the issue of forged certificate would not have arisen in the first place. 

l will use this medium to appeal to Mr. Buhari and also Bola Tinubu to tell Nigerians more about their School certificates. Buhari said  he gave the original to the Military and the respected institution has denied the claim, in fact the Army said Mr. Buhari joined the Military with a letter of "TO WHOM IT MAY BE  CONCERN". Also Bola claimed he attended Government College, Ibadan. We know the school register has been tampered with long ago, WAEC Headquarters in Ghana can help us in both situation.

 l am aware the body has confirmed that Buhari's name is not on the data base as a candidate. Bola Tinubu should point out his classmates or have they all died? These men must be honourable enough and tell the truth. I appeal to Adeosun  to  embark on the compulsory one year youth service and she will rise again

.Olufemi Aduwo

President/CEO

Rights Monitoring Group & Centre for Convention On Democratic integrity Ltd/Gte (Permanent Representative of CCDI to United Nations )