The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Omisore

  • Omisore’s masked marksmen

    Omisore’s masked marksmen

    •Call the Osun PDP candidate to order, if the path to the Osun August 9 election is not to be soaked with innocent blood

    The sight of hooded gunmen on campaign stumps is a sinister contradiction to the democratic ethos, which should alarm everybody. If elections are exercises in free and unfettered choices, then hooded gunmen on campaign grounds are ominous overhang on the electoral process.

    Yet, that is the unfortunate situation in Osun State, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Iyiola Omisore, among other candidates, squares up against Governor Rauf Aregbesola on August 9.

    From media alarm raised by the Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC), with a picture as proof, Mr. Omisore has provided himself the notoriety of hiring masked guards. Even the attempt by the Omisore camp to deny this charge was basically a hee-haw which carefully skirted the allegation on the hooded guards. That suggests there is no smoke without fire.

    But why would Mr. Omisore resort to hooded gunmen as guards? Every candidate on the stump has a measure of protection by the state in uniformed police personnel, plain-clothed police operatives, operatives of the Department of State Security and even members of the Civil Defence Corps. That much, the Omisore camp confirmed.

    So, why would Mr. Omisore prefer to supplement his state-provided security with hooded gunmen, even if, as other candidates would probably do, he needed to invest in private security people?

    If he is trailed by a battery of state security operatives, why has any of these not cautioned Mr. Omisore on his abnormal behaviour, or, better still report him to higher authorities? Or could it be a case of proper report but over-ruling “from the top”, given the fact that Jelili Adesiyan, Minister of Police Affairs, is a close ally of Omisore?

    If that is the case, it is yet another example of brazen impunity. It is clearly illegal for anybody bearing legal arms to be masked. A masked gunman connotes nothing but a dangerous felon ready to commit a crime and vamoose, since his or her identity is hidden.

    Despite the failed effort by the Omisore camp to explain away the existence of the masked gunmen, perhaps Mr. Omisore should be given the benefit of the doubt? Maybe.

    But that would be difficult, given Mr. Omisore’s controversial image; and the careless way Minister Adesiyan has been talking of late, of his regret, because he is a minister, for not thrashing Isiaka Adeleke, a former Governor of Osun State.

    That is clearly a language of violence.  If Mr. Omisore and Mr. Adesiyan are close allies, as they indeed are, it would be fair and reasonable projection to posit that Mr. Omisore has been emboldened to bring his hooded gunmen to town because he has assurances from the powers-that-be that his back is covered.

    It is a logical supposition. Still, it remains an allegation. That is why the Federal Government that controls the security forces must probe this allegation; and stop Mr. Omisore from this lawless path, if it finds the allegation true.

    But if it does nothing or acts dumb even after finding out the truth, it would have opened itself to grave allegation of rigging the processes leading to the Osun State election (in which Mr. Omisore is the candidate of the federal ruling party), and would be fairly and legitimately accused of aiding and abetting brazen illegality, unbefitting a government set up by law.

    Osun APC is screaming that Mr. Omisore, with his hooded gunmen, is introducing political terrorism into Nigeria’s electioneering at a time Nigeria is reeling from the destructive effects of Boko Haram terrorism. This is no crying wolf, if the hooded gunmen are matched with Mr. Omisore’s hardly dovish image. It is an alarm at a sinister development that nobody should ignore.

    That is why the Federal Government must call Mr. Omisore to order right away. We will not have Mr. Omisore use lawless means to harass and intimidate voters.

    We will not have hooded gunmen roaming free in campaign stumps; and pretend hideous violence, claiming innocent lives, would not be the inevitable result.

  • Omisore accuses APC of ‘buying voter cards’

    Omisore accuses APC of ‘buying voter cards’

    APC: You’re confused

    The Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has warned the state’s residents not to sell their voter cards to politicians.

    His Director of Media and Strategy, Prince Diran Odeyemi, in a statement, alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is collecting voter cards from innocent people.

    Omisore also informed the electorate to report anybody who asks for their voter cards to security agencies.

    But in a swift reaction, the APC through its spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, described Omisore as confused.

    Oyatomi said what Omisore and the PDP were desperately doing was what they were accusing the APC of.

    He said: “The people of Osun know the truth and no amount of lying or desperate accusation can make them not to put things in their right perspectives.

    “The people know who between Omisore and Aregbesola or the PDP and APC is trying to buy the people’s voter cards in exchange for their dirty money.”

  • Jonathan, Omisore meet at Villa

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday met behind closed doors with the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the forthcoming Osun State election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

    Omisore, who was dressed in a light purple “agbada”, was driven to the Villa at about 1pm in a federal government-owned black Toyota Land Cruiser jeep with plate number FG838H42.

    He was unaccompanied during the visit which lasted for about 30 minutes.

    He, however, declined to speak with State House correspondents on the issues discussed at the meeting.

    Before he was driven out of the Villa, he told journalists: “I am coming back. I am coming back.”

    The discussions at the meeting may not be unconnected with the governorship election coming up in the state.

    His emergence as the PDP candidate in Osun has led to former governor of the state, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke defecting from the party to team up with the incumbent, Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

     

  • Ignore Omisore’s claim, APC tells US Consul-General

    Ignore Omisore’s claim, APC tells US Consul-General

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has described as “false” Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore’s claim that there is a judgment against the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador Toyin Akeju.

    It said no court pronounced the REC “unfit” to conduct election in Osun, challenging Omisore to publish the so-called judgment.            Urging the US Embassy to call for the court’s records to ascertain the truth, APC said PDP sought and got an injunction to stop Akeju from conducting the 2011 election, which was appealed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    APC said a few days after the injunction was granted, the PDP’s lawyer went back to court, asking for a stay of execution of the order.

    It said: “Bizarre as the request was, the court granted it and the case terminated there. So where is the so-called judgment that Omisore is lying about?”

    APC urged Olson not to take Omisore’s claim seriously, saying: “He has been serially lying about events in the state. He made a lot of noise lying about Osun’s presumed debt with the exceedingly ludicrous figures he fabricated. He has been lying to himself and people like him that the governor has done nothing except transfer Osun’s wealth to his friends in Lagos since he assumed office.

    “Even US officials in Nigeria know and have appreciated how much Aregbesola has done and is doing for Osun citizens. But unfortunately Omisore is blind to these achievements. There is no way such a person can tell the truth about what happened in court in 2011.”

  • Omisore, Oke, Akinlabi for Osun PDP governorship ticket

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State said yesterday that three of its members indicated interest in its governorship ticket.

    They are Mr. Oluwole Oke from Obokun Local Government Area; Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi from Ayedaade Local Government Area and Senator Iyiola Omisore from Ife East Local Government Area.

    Oke is a former member of the House of Representatives. Akinlabi is a former senator and minister. Omisore is a former deputy governor and senator.

    The party set last Dec. 31 as the deadline for members to pick up its nomination form, which cost N5 million.

    In a statement, Osun PDP Chairman, Alhaji Gani OlaOluwa, said only the three aspirants fulfilled the conditions for nomination and assured them of a level playing ground.

  • Osun guber poll: Omisore, two others vie for PDP ticket

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun on Wednesday said three persons have indicated their interests to vie for the party’s nomination in the state’s governorship race.

    The PDP Chairman in the state, Alhaji Gani OlaOluwa, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Osogbo.

    The party had set December 31, 2013 deadline for members interested in the position to pick an Expression of Interest form after paying N5 million.

    OlaOluwa gave the names of the aspirants as – Hon. Oluwole Oke who hails from Obokun Local Government Area, Sen. Olasunkanmi Akinlabi from Ayedaade Local Government Area and Sen. Iyiola Omisore from Ife East Local Government Area.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that While Oke was a former House of Representatives member, Akinlabi was a former Senator and one time minister.

    Omisore was a former deputy governor and former Senator.

    The PDP chairman said the trio fulfilled the conditions set by the party for those wishing to aspire for nomination.

     

     

  • Omisore’s farcical election petition

    SIR: The Yoruba people have a saying that when an elephant dies, knives of varied hues and shapes are bound to show up, ready to slice off a huge chunk of flesh from the beefy creature. In Osun, the proverbial elephant is falling and we are beginning to witness the emergence of different types of knives. The metaphoric elephant I speak of is the 2014 gubernatorial election and the knives showing up are the aspirants from the different political parties.

    One of the politicians who have indicated interest in occupying the Oke-Fia Government House is Senator Iyiola Omisore of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But what I find very displeasing about this Ile-Ife politician is his infernal capacity to reel out outright disinformation. The ever-present possibility of his bilious untruths being revealed doesn’t even daunt him. In recent interviews he granted to some newspapers, he maintained very gravely that he didn’t lose the National Assembly election conducted in 2011. Everywhere he goes, he continues to assault his audience with the falsity that he was the winner of the Osun East senatorial seat. To further misinform the unsuspecting members of the public, he adds injurious icing to his cake of falsehood by claiming that a suit challenging the result of that election is already before a court.

    Yet, when the claims of the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation are flicked through on the screen of irrefutable fact, their true nature as deception aimed to hoodwink comes clear. From all available evidence known to the people of the Senatorial District and beyond, Omisore won only in the polling booth where he cast his vote. So unwanted was he that voters in his ward, local government area and Ile-Ife voted against him. If there is one fact that this so-called powerful politician finds hard to accept, it is that he clearly lost that election. It is a ringing defeat that further reveals till date that he is no more than a politician whose influence and popularity weigh the same as a waver biscuit. And it is in the nature of such diluted politicians to concoct dessert of misrepresentation in order to paint a different picture.

    But the implication of the result of the 2011 election is that Senator Omisore cannot even be a councillor, with all the vaunting and false air he puts up.

    What is more, Omisore doesn’t have any pending case arising from that 2011 National Assembly election. The case in court has to do with the status of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun, Oluwatoyin Akeju. Osun PDP alleged he was a card-carrying member of ACN. They went to court then. The court ruled that INEC should stop recognising Akeju as its REC and ordered his replacement before that election. But INEC appealed the verdict and Akeju stayed. After the election PDP went to court again, this time asking for the invalidation of the election. Till today the two cases are still at the Appeal Court. But Omisore is no party to neither of them! He has no election petition before any tribunal.

    Assaulting the people of Osun with doctored tale as against what the truth is will not improve the electoral fortune of Omisore. He should stop defacing the pages of newspapers with misinformation.

    • Adekunle Oyelade,

    Ile-Ife, Osun State

  • 2014 Osun governorship poll: INEC fires back at Omisore

    2014 Osun governorship poll: INEC fires back at Omisore

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday blasted PDP Chieftain in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, over his media campaign that the Commission has been defying a court order that its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Ambassador Akeju, should be removed.

    The Commission said contrary to Omisore’s claim, there is no subsisting court order against it on Akeju.

    The PDP in Osun State had gone to court seeking Akeju’s removal ahead of the 2014 governorship poll in the state.

    The party accused Akeju of being partisan towards the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Although a Federal High Court in Osogbo granted an interlocutory injunction restraining INEC from recognising Akeju, the same court later granted an application for a stay of proceedings.

    In a statement yesterday, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, advised Omisore to be guided by the law.

    He said: “Ordinarily, INEC, as a neutral umpire, would not want to take issue with political partisans of whatever inclination. But because the Commission’s silence may be mistaken by the unwary public as a proof of veracity of Senator Iyiola Omisore’s claim, it has become imperative to make clear that there is no subsisting court order against Ambassador Akeju as Osun State REC.

    “True, in a ruling on 23rd March, 2011 by the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Hon. Justice Babs Kuewumi gave an interlocutory order of injunction restraining INEC from recognising the REC pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons in the suit.

    “But the Commission’s lawyers lodged an appeal and filed a motion for stay of execution of the interlocutory order. This appeal is still pending before the Court of Appeal in Akure.

    “Meanwhile, Hon. Justice Babs Kuewumi, in another ruling on 31st May, 2012, granted the application for stay of proceedings pending the determination of the appeal made by the Plaintiff – the Peoples Democratic Party.

    “The position of the law as at today is that the order of injunction granted by the lower court is in abeyance pending the final determination of the appeal.

    “Let me reaffirm that INEC is a law-abiding organisation and does not defy valid court orders.

    “The Commission is guided by provisions of the law and strives to do the right thing always. Politicians, and indeed all Nigerians, are urged to be likewise disposed – for the good health of our democracy.”

  • Re: Aregbesola, Omisore, and Omoworare

    Re: Aregbesola, Omisore, and Omoworare

    The attention of the Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation has been drawn to an article titled “Aregbesola, Omisore and I” authored by Babajide Omoworare, and published in your newspaper’s edition of Sunday, June 16, 2013 on page 26. Omoworare was described in the publication as the “Senator representing Osun East”, – a claim which is still in litigation as we shall presently show. The said publication was replete with half-truths and blatant falsehood. While we could have ignored the piece as an amateurish regurgitation, we found it compelling to set the records straight, especially as facts of history were distorted and misrepresented.

    The issues touched by Omoworare fall into three main categories; namely, the record of the performance in office of his boss, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as governor of Osun State for the past three years; the politics of betrayal in the Alliance for Democracy; and the 2011 elections in Osun State. In each of the three categories, Omoworare was, at his best, economical with the truth.

    We start with the last general elections in the state. It is on record that prior to the 2011 elections in Osun, 38 stakeholders went to court seeking an order to stop the election on the ground that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Oluwatoyin Akeju, was a biased umpire, having served, in Lagos, as special adviser to Senator Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the parties contesting in the elections.

    The said Ambassador Akeju had also been confirmed as a card-carrying member of the ACN. The court granted the order, restraining INEC from recognising Akeju as REC and restraining the same Akeju from conducting or supervising the conduct of the elections. The INEC, however, ignored the court order and allowed the said Akeju to preside over the elections in Osun State. For record purposes, the suit number is FHC/OS/CS/26/2011 while the ruling was delivered on March 28th, 2011. Interested parties should please check up the court records. Permit us to say that this is a court of competent jurisdiction.

    The outcome of the elections presided over by the said Akeju was a massively rigged polls throwing up Omoworare and his likes. As law-abiding citizens, the plaintiffs in the original case then went to court seeking to invalidate the election held against a subsisting court order. The court was about determining the suit when the ACN rushed to delay the hearing of the substantive suit. The appeal by the ACN is still pending in the Court of Appeal. It is also on record that INEC later approached the Court of Appeal to appeal the original court ruling restraining it, first, from recognising Akeju as REC Osun State, and, second, from allowing the said Akeju to supervise the conduct of the Osun polls. The case appeal number is CA/AK/46/2011 with INEC and Akeju as the appellants and the PDP as the respondent.

    Why Omoworare denies the existence of these court cases over his so-called victory is not far to decipher. The presence of these cases cannot but give him jitters. Omoworare behaves like the ostrich, pretending that the court cases do not exist. But even that will not wish them away! It is bare-faced misinformation and deception that Omoworare failed to make reference to the fact that the election on which he stands to describe himself as the “Senator representing Osun East” is still in litigation. We would have expected him to have been distinguished enough to admit the above facts as he did on his scampering away from a fresh contest after the 2007 election petition ruling. The election that he claimed to have won was illegally conducted and the court is handling the case appropriately. It would have amounted to endorsing an illegality were Iyiola Omisore to file a petition against an election the court had ruled should not hold.

    Omoworare‘s supposition that all previous elections, except that of 1999, were rigged is a self-serving, indicting accusation. The 2003 elections where Chief Bisi Akande was voted out were adjudged one of the best elections in the state. In Osun east senatorial district, Iyiola Omisore won despite being unjustly imprisoned during the period. The groundswell of sympathy guaranteed his victory even when he could not campaign round the district because of his incarceration. Omoworare must note that if democracy is to take firm roots in Nigeria, it is deceitful to see only elections won by us as free and fair while those won by our opponents are bad-mouthed even when clear evidence shows that such elections were free and fair. Everyone knew why Chief Akande lost in 2003. Akande himself knew why he lost. Before that election, knowledgeable AD leaders in Osun had seen the ominous signs and had sounded the alarm. But like the proverbial hunter’s dog destined to get lost in the forest, Chief Akande spurned all good counsel and continued with his policies – and the people paid him back in his own coins by massively voting him out of office. That is the correct analysis of what happened in Osun State in 2003 and only a jaundiced writer like Omoworare would pretend not to know that.

    On Omisore’s relationship with Chief Akande, Omoworare should have been tutored properly. The Alliance for Democracy was formed in Omisore‘s hotel room in Abuja under the watchful eyes of the late Chief Bola Ige. Omoworare was a young man still trying to find his feet at that time. Omisore bankrolled not just the party but also the election of Akande as governor of Osun State. Facts are sacred. Contrary to accusations that Omisore disregarded and harassed the former governor, it is rather the other way round as Omisore was hounded and tossed around in the desperate bid of the cabal that had formed around Akande to betray the gentleman’s agreement of one term only agreed to within the party caucus prior to the 1999 elections.

    That was the prelude to the campaign of calumny, ostracisation, and orchestrated impeachment of Senator Omisore as deputy governor of the state on flimsy grounds. Senator Omisore was betrayed by others he had helped. It was not the other way round. Their plan was to politically bury Omisore despite all he did for them but God is ever on the side of the righteous. Omoworare was not part of the caucus and so cannot claim first-hand knowledge of what transpired. We must also note that during the days of the United Nigeria Congress Party [UNCP] when Senator Omisore was already a key player in the politics of Nigeria, Omoworare was still a student.

    Let it be known to Omoworare and others of his ilk that Omisore as Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee for four years transparently supervised the appropriation of almost N49 trillion to the applause and commendation of the public. His tenure as chairman of that strategic committee was a golden age of appropriation processes in the country. As a professional engineer, he has undertaken many top-flight engineering projects. Thus, Omisore is not the ordinary, business-as-usual politician but a tested and experienced professional that has the wherewithal to take Osun to a new level of collective prosperity.

    As we close, a word of advice is necessary for Omoworare: Facts of history cannot be whimsically distorted. Omisore was pivotal to making Chief Bisi Akande, current National Chairman of ACN, governor of Osun State. The injustice done to Omisore was monumental. Let all those who aspire to the position of leadership toe the path of truth because truth exalts; falsehood is a reproach. Omisore holds no personal grudges against anyone; not even against Akande, Omoworare or Gov. Aregbesola.

     

    •Oriola, is Media Adviser, Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation.

     

  • Alleged libel: Omisore lacks integrity, court told

    Alleged libel: Omisore lacks integrity, court told

    •Judge may withdraw from suit

    Justice Adebisi Ogunlade of the Osogbo High Court in Osun State has adjourned till July 4, a suit between former Senator Iyiola Omisore and Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation.

    The adjournment followed a petition accusing the judge of bias.

    Mr. Justice Ogunlade said he received a letter from the Chief Judge, asking him to respond to the petition within one week.

    He said the petitioner alleged that he might not get justice because of the judge’s association with a former governor of the state, Chief Bisi Akande.

    The judge said he would respond to the petition within two days, hinting that he may no longer preside over the case.

    Editor-at-Large, Mr. Segun Ayobolu and The Nation Saturday Editor, Dele Adeosun, are also defendants in the suit.

    At Monday’s proceedings, The Nation’s lawyer, Oludare Falana, who said his clients were ready to go on with the case, expressed regret over the petition, which he said caused a delay.

    He urged the court to award punitive cost against the plaintiff, but the judge declined.

    Mr. Justice Ogunlade said he was not beholden to any party, adding that he would not lose anything if the case was transferred to another judge.

    Omisore is claiming that he was defamed in an article written by Ayobolu.

    He said the writer insinuated that he was corrupt and lacking in integrity, adding that the article damaged his reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public.

    In pleading privilege, the defendants, in their statement of defence, said the plaintiff granted press interviews and issued a press statement where he denied the allegations contained in the publication; therefore, Omisore did not suffer any embarrassment or damage to his reputation.

    The defendants added: “The comments and views expressed by the defendants are privileged. They have no cause or any reason howsoever to nurse any malice against the claimant and, as such, the publication complained of was not actuated by malice.

    “The defendants are duty-bound under the 1999 Constitution to disseminate ideas, opinions and information. The publication was the writer’s opinion, which comments were fair to the claimant.”

    The defendants further stated that the Omisore has no reputation to protect.

    According to them, the plaintiff, who served as Deputy Governor to Chief Akande, while being incarcerated in Agodi Prisons, Ibadan in connection with the murder of the former Attorney-General, the late Chief Bola Ige (SAN), contested and won the Osun East Senatorial seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “without deposing to an affidavit before a High Court as required by the Electoral Act.”

    “The claimant is given notice to produce the affidavit deposed in compliance with the Electoral Act before he won the seat,” they said.

    The defendants also recalled that while in office as Deputy Governor, Omisore was accused of breach of oath of office and conflict of interest.

    He was subsequently impeached by the House of Assembly, having been found liable, the defendants said.

    They added that the House, on December 13, 2002, passed a resolution removing him as Deputy Governor after the report of the investigative panel, which indicted him, was adopted.

    On why Omisore was impeached, the defendants recalled: “The claimant committed grave violation of the Constitution…relating to oath of office which he subscribed to by granting an interview reported in The Comet newspaper of 30th January, 2001.

    “The claimant in the said interview divulged the discussions and deliberations of the state executive in respect of the utilisation of the US$1.5million Water Chemical Fund, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.

    “The claimant as Deputy Governor of Osun State contravened Section 1 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in Part 1, Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution by vigorously pursuing the USD$1.5 million Water Chemical Funds in a lawsuit against the state government.

    “Chrisore Engineering Limited, a company which the claimant as Deputy Governor then was the chairman, joined in Suit No. HOS/28/2001.

    “Whatever benefit that would have accrued to Chrisore Engineering Limited in the suit would also have accrued to the claimant as a serving Deputy Governor.”

    To further prove that Omisore has no reputation to protect, the defendants said he falsely claims to be born on September 15, 1960.

    According to them, the plaintiff’s father, in a sworn affidavit dated January 27, 1993, indicates that Omisore’s actual date of birth is September 15, 1957.

    This, the defendants said, “is an indication of the claimant’s lies and inconsistencies.”

    Besides, they said that as Chairman of Chrisore Engineering while also serving as Deputy Governor, Omisore “accrued pecuniary interest personally to himself.”

    “Notice is hereby given the claimant to produce the tax clearance certificate of Chrisore Engineering Limited from 1999 to date and his personal tax clearance certificate from 1999 to date,” the defendants averred.

    The defendants added: “The claimant was arrested, detained and charged to court with the murder of (former Attorney-General of the Federation) Chief Bola Ige (SAN) at the High Court of Oyo State holden in Ibadan.

    “But the claimant was discharged and acquitted as the case was programmed by the Federal Government to fail in favour of the claimant.

    “One Alani Omisore, a cousin of the claimant, was identified by one Andrew Olotu (the security guard on duty the night Chief Ige was assassinated) as the leader of the assassination squad.

    “Muyiwa Ige, Chief Ige’s son, who was in the house on the night of the assassination, identified one Mr Pade Omisore as one of the assailants, who ordered him to lie down on a bed at gunpoint.

    “Forensic evidence, either finger prints or ballistic, did not feature in the investigations.

    “The prosecution was not provided with evidence as basic as whether finger prints on the scene of the incident matched those of any of the suspects arrested in connection with the assassination.

    “All the principal investigators of the case…were redeployed or otherwise taken off the investigation long before it was concluded and the suspects charged to court.

    “The judge before whom the claimant was initially arraigned, Hon. Justice Mashud Abass of the Oyo State High Court, withdrew from the case.

    “He attributed his withdrawal to untold pressure and threats from many quarters urging him to arrive at a particular decision even before he listened to the claimant, who was the accused person.

    “The claimant has no reputation or integrity to be damaged as he has always associated himself with abuse of office, wanton corruption and acts of hooliganism, thuggery and violence.

    “If the Federal Government was genuinely committed to the crusade against corruption, the claimant would not have been nominated as a member of the Senate having been impeached for corrupt practices.

    “The claimant’s suit is gold-digging, speculative, frivolous and vexatious.”

    The defendants prayed the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs.