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Tag: Osun tribunal

  • Osun Tribunal: Govt Accuses PDP Of Sponsoring Confusion

    The Government of the State of Osun on Friday  accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  of executing its plot to create confusion around the premises of the court, where the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has been sitting.

    The government alleged that large population of hoodlums, loyal to the PDP, stormed the premises of the court on Friday and created confusion around the Government House premises.

    Media aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Semiu Okanlawon, in a statement said an earlier false accusation had been levelled against Governor Aregbesola by the PDP few days ago over a purported plot to bring hoodlums to pose as members of the judiciary workers union and prevent lawyers and members of the tribunal to gain access into the premises.

    He said that the government had called on the security agencies in the state to view PDP’s false accusation against Aregbesola as indication of their own plot to unleash violence on innocent people of Osun and the need to arrest anybody who breaches the peace of the state under whatever guise.

    Okanlawon said after the failure of the PDP’s hoodlums to unleash violence on innocent people, they resorted to baseless and wild jubilations, claiming that the tribunal had declared their candidate winner of the August 9, 2014 governorship poll.

    “It is startling how PDP leaders, their members and sponsored hoodlums could go to town, jubilating over a non-existent verdict. The parties to the petition only made final submissions to the tribunal.

    “Expectedly, the tribunal adjourned sine die (indefinitely) in order to return at a later date to announce its judgment date,” the statement noted.

    The statement therefore advised members of the public to dismiss PDP’s claims and view it as just another in the litany of the party’s lies and manipulations.

    On Friday, during the tribunal proceedings, security were beefed up around the court premises, as armed policemen and operatives of State Security Service (SSS) were deployed in the area to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

    Members of the PDP after the tribunal sitting had gone to town singing that the tribunal had declared their candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore winner.

    The news spread like a wildfire around the town, as residents of state were making calls to government officials and journalists to find out the true story concerning the sitting at the tribunal.

    The party’s National Secretary,  Professor Wale Oladipupo, Police Affairs Minister, Mr Jelili Adesiyan, Professor Oludaisi Aina, a senatorial candidate in the party, were among the leaders who led the party members to be jubilating around the major streets of the state capital.

    They later gathered at the secretariat of the party along Gbongan/Ibadan road and blocked the main road, dancing.

    Also dismissing the PDP claim, APC State Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, said; “it is not true that the PDP has won at the Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.

    “The PDP members had gone beserk. Nothing of sort has happened anywhere in any court of law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The APC therefore, admonished the residents of the state to shun the rumour, describing it as wicked and cynical jubilation by PDP members around some centres in Osogbo that they have won at the tribunal.

    “It is not only false, it is intended to create confusion in the state capital and other cities. What happened at the tribunal was not a judgment. The tribunal simply had addresses by all counsel representing their clients on the case. After that, the tribunal chairman adjourned sitting indefinitely.

    “No date has been fixed for judgment. Only a terrible mischief-maker and political vagabond will go about town, declaring victory and rejoicing in a case of this nature, which the court has not made final pronouncement on.

    “The people of Osun should disregard PDP’s antics. That party is already losing its mind and its leadership in the State of Osun needs spiritual and medical help.

    “Governor Rauf Aregbesola is in charge and All Progressives Congress is the party in power in the State of Osun.

    “Nothing has changed that fact. Osun people should go about their lawful businesses and treat the PDP people, who were jubilating over nothing with pity for something has seriously gone wrong with them,” the APC said.

     

  • Osun Tribunal Reserves Judgment

    Osun Tribunal Reserves Judgment

    The State of Osun Governorship Election Petition  Tribunal hearing the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Iyiola Omisore, against the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has reserved judgement in the matter.

    The tribunal reserved judgement on Friday after counsel to the petitioners and respondents; Aregbesola, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adopted their final addresses before the court.

    Adopting his final address, counsel to Aregbesola, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), submitted that the petition was not competent in the first place because it was filed out of the time stipulated by law.

    He also argued that the petitioners did not adduce any reasonable evidence to justify their allegations of irregularities at the election, saying, the duplicate copies of Form EC8A (result forms) tendered by one of the witnesses of the petitioners were inadmissible because the witness was neither the maker nor signatory to the documents.

    The counsel also argued that “the purported CTC of form EC8A were not properly certified. Also, the ballot papers they brought before the court were just dumped and up till now, nobody knows what they want to use it for.

    “The Supreme Court in the case of Buhari vs Obasanjo has said the document tendered by the petitioner are inadmissible and the Court of Appeal said even if they are admitted, they have no weight.

    “Apart from that, there are total of 3,010 polling units in Osun, the petitioners are challenging 939 polling units in 142 wards, and they did not call any evidence in 709 units in 116 wards, even when the Supreme Court has said you must call evidence in all the units you are challening. It means they have abandoned their case in those wards and units.

    “Assuming without conceding that evidence were called in all the polling units being challenged and results of those units were deducted, the petitioners would still lose and the first respondents would still win convincingly.

    “The so-called expert witnesses of the petitioners admitted that there are errors in his report and none of the witnesses of the petition advanced the cause of the petition,” he argued.

    He said the petitioners have no evidence to rely on before the tribunal and “the petition must fail and I urged your lordships to dismiss it.”

    In his argument, counsel to the APC, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), adopted the argument of the first respondent’s counsel, and added that the failure of the petitioners to link their evidence to the case was fatal to the petition.

    “The evidence of their witnesses are of no value. They listed over 1,000 witnesses, they reduced it to 500 and they ended up calling 43 witnesses.

    “Their allegation was that voters were induced, but none of the petitioners’ witnesses told the court that he was induced. Also their so-called expert did not give any expert evidence.

    “If there has been any petition that has been a waste of judicial time, it is this petition,” urging the tribunal to dismiss it.

    Also, the INEC counsel, Mr Ayotunde Ogunleye, said the petition was incompetent because it was filed out of time, urging the court to dismiss same.

    He also said the petitioners failed to shift the burden of proof place on them by law, saying, in all the Forms EC8A tendered by the petitioners, none of their witnesses established discrepancies in them as alleged by the petitioners.

    The counsel added that part of the case of the petitioners was that people were disenfranchised, saying, none of the witnesses of the petitioner said he was not allowed to vote.

    Urging the court to dismiss the petition, he said the Osun election was an election that INEC should be commended for its credibility.

    While adopting his own address, the petitioners’ counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) said the evidence before the court has shown that his client had majority of lawful votes and he should be declared the winner of the election.

    In looking at preponderance of evidence before the tribunal, he said his client has more evidence on the scale, while the respondents have none.

    Meanwhile, the tribunal conduct its sitting for the day amidst tight security.

    Reacting to the rumour that Aregbesola’s counsel admitted that he was allocated votes more than what he won, Olujinmi said it was part of the antics of the petitioner to confuse the people when it failed to convince the tribunal.

    “What we are saying is that assuming without conceding that those votes being chellenged were deducted, the petitioners will still lose the case. I am surprised that the counsel for the petitioner is claiming not to know what he knows it is elementary.

    “Our position is that the petition is hopeless, but they are now coming up with another theory of election litigation of random proof, which is strange. So, the petition has failed and we are confident of victory,” he said.

     

  • Osun tribunal: Aregbesola closes defence

    Osun tribunal: Aregbesola closes defence

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola closed his defence yesterday on the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the August 9 election, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

    The second respondent, All Progressives Congress (APC), is expected to open its defence tomorrow.

    Omisore is challenging the declaration of Aregbesola as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime Election Petition Tribunal.

    Announcing the closure of the defence yesterday, Aregbesola’s counsel Kunle Adegoke said his client was satisfied with the defence before the panel.

    Aregbesola spent only eight of the statutory 10 days allowed him to defend the allegations of the petitioners. He called 19 witnesses.

    APC’s counsel Ajibola Basiru said the witnesses called by the first respondent were to further convince the court that the election was indeed free and fair, saying, the petitioners had not proved any case.

    He said: “We are not under any obligation to even call a particular number of witnesses, because the petitioners have not called witnesses to cover areas pleaded in the petition and secondly their witnesses have been thoroughly discredited under cross-examination.

    “The petitioners have also not established the case of non-compliance. From experience, this is one of useless election petitions I have ever seen in the history of this country.”