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Tag: Senator Ademola Adeleke

  • Eligibility: Appeal Court to deliver judgment in Adeleke’s appeal today

    THE Court of Appeal in Abuja will today deliver judgment in the separate appeals by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    The court announced the date of judgment in hearing notices sent to parties by its Registry.

    The PDP and Adeleke are, by their appeals, challenging the April 2, 2019 judgment by Justice Othman Musa of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, which voided Adeleke’s candidacy for the election on the grounds that he was not qualified, having not possessed a valid secondary school certificate.

    The judgment by Justice Musa was in the suit by Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, who claimed that Adeleke was not qualified, under Section 177 of the constitution to contest the governorship election.

    A panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, at the conclusion of hearing in the appeals on May 14, told parties that a date for judgment would be communicated to them.

    Adeleke’s lawyer, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), while arguing the appeal, faulted the judgment of the trial court.

    Ogunwumiju urged the court to uphold his client’s appeal and set aside the judgment.

    Read also: Be strong, faithful to obligations of Ramadam, Adeleke to Muslims

    Lawyer to the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, urged the court to set aside the judgment of the trial court and proceed to dismiss the suit,  on which it was based, for being incompetent and statute barred.

    Enoidem, who is also PDP’s National Legal Adviser, argued that the suit was caught by the Fourth Alteration Act, having been filed outside the 14 days allowed by law.

    In a counter-argument, lawyer to the respondents, Joel Akomolafe urged the court to uphold the judgment of the lower court and dismiss the appeal.

    Akomolafe contended that the appellants did not appeal the lower court’s pronouncement on the issue of jurisdiction.

    He argued that, having not been appealed against, the decision of the trial court on its jurisdiction to hear the case remains valid and subsisting.

    Akomolafe noted that the trial court dismissed the motion by Adeleke and PDP, challenging its jurisdiction on the ground that it was canvassed belatedly.

    Justice Musa had, in the April 2, 2019 judgement, held that Adeleke did not possess valid secondary school certificate for him to be eligible to stand election for the seat of the Governor of Osun State.

  • Eligibility: Appeal Court reserves judgment in Adeleke’s appeal

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in the separate appeals by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    The PDP and Adeleke are challenging the April 2, 2019 judgment by Justice Othman Musa of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari.

    The judgment was in the suit by Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, who claimed that Adeleke was not qualified, under Section 177 of the Constitution to contest the governorship election.

    Justice Adamu Jauro, who led the three-man panel that heard the appeal on Tuesday, told parties that a date for judgment would be communicated to them.

    Lawyer to Adeleke, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) had, while arguing the appeal, faulted the judgment of the trial court.

    Ogunwumiju urged the court to uphold his client’s appeal and set aside the judgment.

    He faulted the claim that Adeleke forged the West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to secure clearance for the gubernatorial election.

    He stated that the certificate attached to Adeleke’s nomination Form CF 001 was lawfully issued to him and was confirmed by WAEC in its affidavit evidence submitted to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari.

    Read also: Oyetola vs. Adeleke

    The lawyer said what Adeleke presented to INEC to secure qualification for the gubernatorial election was the same result WAEC presented before the trial court when it was ordered to do so.

    He argued that the trial court erred in law when it ignored document, which it ordered to be presented, in reaching the decision that Adeleke did not possess the requisite academic qualification for the office of Governor.

    Ogunwumiju noted that there was no case of non-qualification or forgery against Adeleke before the lower court.

    Lawyer to the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, urged the court  to set aside the judgment of the trial court and proceed to dismiss the suit,  on which it was based,for being incompetent and statute barred.

    Enoidem, who is also PDP’s National Legal Adviser, argued that the suit was caught by the Fourth Alteration Act, having been filed outside the 14 days allowed by law.

    He noted that the suit was filed after 44 days after the cause of action arose, while judgment was delivered outside the 180 days prescribed by law for a pre-election matter.

    Enoidem noted that the PDP conducted its primary on July 21, 2018, while the plaintiffs, who are respondents in the appeal, filed their suit before the trial court on September 4, 2018, with judgment delivered on April 2, 2019.

    He argued that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, because the cause of action arose in Osun State.

    In a counter-argument, lawyer to the respondents, Joel Akomolafe urged the court to uphold the judgment of the lower court and dismiss the appeal.

    Akomolafe contended that the appellants did not appeal the lower court’s pronouncement on the issue of jurisdiction.

    He argued that, having not been appealed against, the decision of the trial court on its jurisdiction to hear the case remains valid and subsisting.

    Akomolafe noted that the trial court dismissed the motion by Adeleke and PDP, challenging its jurisdiction on the grounds that it was canvassed belatedly.

    Justice Musa had, in the April 2, 2019 judgement, held that Adeleke did not possess valid secondary school certificate for him to be eligible to stand election for the seat of the Governor of Osun State.

    The judge noted while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually graduated as his name was not seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    Justice Musa equally noted that the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was fake, and was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

  • UPDATED: PDP alleges plot to poison Adeleke as police arrest senator

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over alleged plots to poison Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    According to the main opposition party, Senator Adeleke was arrested and detained by the police Monday evening, in what the PDP described as total disregard for the extant order of the Federal High Court.

    At a media conference in Abuja Monday night, spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the senator’s arrest and detention as highly provocative, an invitation to anarchy and recipe for a very serious crisis not only in Osun but also in the judiciary and the nation as a whole.

    The statement said, “The arrest and detention of Senator Adeleke is a direct act of violence against our laws, the institution of the judiciary and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “This is part of the grand plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to coerce Senator Adeleke to relinquish the mandate that was freely given to him by the people of Osun state, which was further established by the election petition tribunal.

    “The plot is to drag Senator Adeleke before an ostensibly compromised magistrate court, over the same issues of alleged forged school testimonial that is already before the Federal High Court, with a view to using such corridor to secure a stampeded trial and hurried conviction, and put him out of circulation, over trump-up charges.

    “The heinous calculation by the APC is to ensure that Senator Adeleke is not free to be sworn in as governor of Osun state as they know he will surely obtain justice and retrieve his stolen mandate at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

    Read also: PDP to police, APC: leave Senator Adeleke alone

    “The police arrested Senator Ademola on the guise of an invitation despite the direct orders of the Federal High Court, restraining it or its agents from arresting and detaining him on account of statement of result and testimonial duly issued by the Ede Muslim Grammar School, Ede, pending the determination of the originating summons pending in the court.

    “Senator Adeleke, as a law-abiding citizen, honoured an invitation by the police only for him to be arrested and detained in a dingy facility in Maitama, in direct affront to the order of the Federal High Court.

    “The PDP holds that any arraignment of Senator Adeleke in a magistrate court, for a matter that is already being heard by the Federal High Court, is a calculated plot to cause crisis in the judicial system, enmesh the matter in unnecessary controversy as a pathway to truncate the course of justice in his matter.

    “The PDP, therefore, demands forthwith, the immediate and unconditional release of Senator Adeleke by the police.

    “This demand is predicated on fears already in the public space that there are plots by certain elements to poison him in detention.

    “The PDP, therefore, cautions those playing the script of the APC with regard to Senator Adeleke to retrace their steps and allow the people of Osun state to move ahead with their preferred governor. Nothing, not even these heinous plots, will subvert this reality”.

  • Adeleke faults Buhari’s spokesman on forgery allegation

    Senator Ademola Adeleke, representing Osun West Senatorial District has faulted allegation that he presented forged school results to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Adeleke, who attributed the allegation to the spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo (SAN), argued that the lawyer acted out of ignorance.

    The Senator, in a statement authored by Niyi Owolade for the Ademola Adeleke campaign Organisation, said he did not, at any time forge any certificate for election or any other purpose.

    Part of the statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a tweet credited to Mr. Festus Keyamo that Senator Ademola Adeleke forged a statement of result he presented for election and that WAEC did not attest his certificate.

    “We suspect that Mr. Keyamo must have been misinformed or failed to get his facts correctly.

    “For his information and that of the general public, both WAEC and the school principal of Ede Muslim High school, Ede attested Senator Adeleke’s result through sworn affidavits before FCT High Court, Bwari.

    “We advise the President’s campaign spokesman to get his facts straight before making public statements.

    “Being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria demands that level of responsibility. Senator Ademola Adeleke did not at any time forge any certificate for this election or for any other purpose.

    “Let us repeat for the umpteenth time that the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede and WAEC were summoned by the court in a case filed by the APC against Senator Adeleke.

    “The principal through a sworn affidavit attested the statement of results presented by the PDP candidate for his election and a Deputy Registrar of WAEC did the same through an affidavit of evidence.

    READ ALSO: Adeleke qualifies to be governor, says Appeal Court

    “The two affidavits were widely published in the newspapers and are available in court papers. WAEC not only attested Adeleke’s result, the school authority, through the principal also did.

    “At this stage in Osun election cases, all the facts are in public domain and nothing can be spinned again.

    “First, the public is fully aware that both WAEC and the Principal attested to Adeleke’s qualification.

    “Secondly, by the combined effect of Sections 177 and 318 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, Senator Ademola Adeleke is qualified to contest for the office of a State Governor.

    “Thirdly and much more critical, WAEC and the principal affirmed in their respective affidavits that there was no forgery as results submitted by Adeleke tallied with their records.

    “We wish to conclude by informing the public once again that apart from the above attestation of Adeleke’s qualification, there are two subsisting high court judgments, affirming Senator Adeleke’s eligibility to contest for office if Governor.”

  • Osun Guber: Appeal Court dismisses suit against Adeleke

    The Akure division of the Court of Appeal yesterday said the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, was eligible to contest the election.

    The Appeal Court in its ruling dismissed an appeal against the judgment of an Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo which had earlier confirmed the eligibility of Adeleke to contest the governorship election.

    The Appeal court sitting in Akure,the Ondo state capital in its ruling dismissed the appeal on three grounds, affirming the judgment of the lower court that confirmed the eligibility of Adeleke. The first ground was that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.

    The second was that the petitioner; one Kingsley Awosiyan from Ife Central,  has no locus standi to file the case and third was that the matter was brought to court outside the stipulated 14 days after the conduct of the governorship primary election.

    Read also: We didn’t see Adeleke in exam hall, NECO supervisors tell court

    Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Adeleke, Nathaniel Oke said the latest judgment has knocked out the judgment of an Abuja High Court and rendered its conclusion ineffective, null and void with no effect on the candidacy of the PDP candidate for the September 2018 gubernatorial election.

    He said the Abuja High court judgment had contradicted the Osogbo High court verdict by rejecting testimonies of WAEC, an examination body which in a sworn affidavit confirmed that Ademola Adeleke sat for its examination with attached results.

  • We didn’t see Adeleke in exam hall, NECO supervisors tell court

    A Federal High Court in Abuja heard yesterday that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in last year’s Osun State governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, did not sit for the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations in 2017.

    It was at the resumed proceedings of the trial of the Ede-born senator and four others for their alleged involvement in examination malpractices.

    The prosecution called two witnesses – Emmanuel Odesola and Adigun Akintayo – who said they acted as supervisor and invigilator during the June/July 2017 NECO examination in Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro, Osun State.

    Odesola (a teacher, who was a supervisor during the examination) and Akintayo (a teacher and invigilator)  said they only saw Sikiru Adeleke (the Senator’s brother), who is listed as the 2nd respondent, in the examination hall.

    The witnesses also said they did not experience malpractices.

    They said of the five defendants, they only saw the second defendant (Sikiru Adeleke), the principal and registrar of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School during the examination.

    Senator Adeleke, Sikiru Adeleke (who is said to be the senator’s relative), Alhaji Aregbesola Mufutau (the school principal), Gbadamosi Thomas Ojo (registrar) and Dare Samuel Olutope (teacher) were arraigned in November last year.

    REad also: ‘Osun deserves better than Adeleke’

    The five were arraigned on a charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/156/2018, filed in the name of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

    Ademola and Sikiru were accused of fraudulently, through impersonation, registering as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro, Osun State to enable them sit for the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination of June/July 2017.

    The other three defendants were accused of aiding the commission of the alleged offence.

    Testifying yesterday as the third prosecution witness, Odesola said he teaches at Akode Middle High School, Akoda, Ede, but served as supervisor during the 2017 examination.

    He admitted knowing the Adeleke and three other defendants, except Olutope, who he said he only met for the first time in court.

    Odesola said although he was in the school for the first time, the school authorities failed to provide him with the school album to enable him match the students’ faces with their names.

    He said it was the school’s registrar that identified the students before they were allowed into the examination hall.

    Odesola said he saw some four elderly men in the exam hall on the day of the Economics examination, but that he could not confront them because they had the school identity cards.

    The witness said although that was his first day in the school, he did not see the senator in the exam hall.

    He added that, although he could not identify who among those in the examination hall were actual students of the school, the principal and registrar of the school confirmed that they were all students, who were issued the school’s identity card.

    He said although 60 students were scheduled to write the examination, two were absent on the day the Economics examination was written.

    Odesola added: “I observed that there were some elderly people in the examination hall. They were about four of them.”

    Prosecution lawyer Simon Lough later tender, through Odesola, some documents, including one answer sheet, numbered 057, with the name: Ademola Adeleke written on it.

    Under cross-examination by lawyers to the defendants, among whom were Alex Izinyon (SAN), and Nathaniel Oke (SAN), the witness said he did not know the hand writing of the defendants and could not tell who wrote on the examination sheet tendered in court.

    The witness said it was not easy to ascertain if somebody was old by mere looking at his face.

    Odesola said he could not see the four elderly people, who he saw in the examination hall, in court yesterday.

    The witness, who said he screened the students with the assistance of officials of the school, before they were allowed into the examination hall, said: “The students are supposed to have identity cards, with their pictures, and signed by the school principal.”

    Akintayo, in his evidence-in-chief, said that while he was distributing question papers, “I saw a candidate that was more matured. He was Sikiru Adeleke.

    “I asked him for his identity card, and he showed me one that was issued by the school and signed by the principal.

    “As a school teacher, I could not ask him to leave the hall or query him any further.”

    On whether he saw all the defendants in the examination hall, the witness said: “I only saw the registrar. Outside that, I did not see the others.

    “When the examination was in progress, a woman, who was the examination supervisor, Mrs. Kusamotu Fumilayo (PW2) was surprised to see Sikiru Adeleke in the hall.

    “She asked for his identity card, which he brought out. She was not satisfied. She sat beside him for some minutes and later left.”

    Akintayo said, apart from Sikiru Adeleke, he did not see any of the other defendants in the examination hall.

    Under cross-examination, Akintayo said he made a statement to the police at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Osogb on October 8, 2018.

    The witness said it was at the police station that the police showed him the first defendant’s scores in the examination.

    Akitayo said he did not see the 1st defendant on that day of the examination. He added that it is strange for NECO to award marks to a student who did not write an examination.

    He said external candidates do not write the June/July NECO examinations because it is meant for and always written by students of the school.

    On further cross-examination, Akintayo said it is NECO that issues numbers to students who sits for its examination.

    The witness said he did not check whether Sikiru Adeleke has examination number allocated to him by NECO.

    Akintayo said there was no incident of malpractices during the examination, but insisted that Sikiru Adeleke “was the most matured students on the examination hall.”

    On whether they were issued certain guidelines, the witness said: “The only instruction given to us was that anybody with school ID card should be allowed to write the exam.”

    At the conclusion of Akintayo’s testimony, Lough told the court to vacate the hearing scheduled for Thursday (today) on the grounds that he would be before the Supreme Court.

    Lawyers to the defendants did not object to the prosecution lawyer’s application, following which Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned to June 10 and 11 for continuation of trial.

    Justice Ekwo warned the prosecution to keep to the days given by the court.

  • Court: Adeleke unfit to run for Osun governor

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja yesterday voided the participation of  Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment,  annulled Adeleke’s nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that he offended Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    The section states that candidates for governor must be educated up to secondary school level.

    Justice Musa said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated.

    The judge said Adeleke’s name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    Justice Musa noted that the result Adeleke attached to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb.

    The plaintiffs had accused Adeleke of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the office of governor.

    They contented, among others, that Adeleke’s claim that he sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 could not be true because Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced then.

    The plaintiffs argued that what was in existence then was the West African School Certificate Examination.

    They urged the court to, among others, disqualify Adeleke from participating in the governorship election on the grounds that he did not possess the required educational qualification.

    Read also: Osun tribunal judgment: PDP supporters celebrate Adeleke’s victory

    At the preliminary stages in the case, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in response to a September 11, 2018, ex-parte order by the court,  provided evidence that Adeleke sat for its May/June 1981 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.

    In its affidavit sworn to by Henry Sunday Adewunmi Osindeinde, a Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, WAEC, said Adeleke sat for the May/June 1981 examination at Ede Muslim High School, Yidi Road, Ede, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149.

    WAEC attached a copy of the results of all 122 candidates who sat for the May/June 1981 in Ede Muslim High School.

    In the attached results, Adeleke is listed as number 149. He sat for only English Language in which he scored F9.

    He was said not to have sat for Literature in English, Islamic Knowledge, Geography, Economics, Mathematics and Biology.

    Osindeinde said in the affidavit: “By virtue of my position as Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, I have read the enrolled order of this court (specifically orders iv, v and vi) dated 11th September, 2018 directing and compelling the WAEC to depose to an affidavit confirming or denying the said orders contained in the said enrolled order and referred to in this paragraph and I wish to state as follows:

    “The said candidate named in this suit known as Adeleke Ademola, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149, indeed sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the council at Ede Muslim High School situate at P. O. Box 6 Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.

    “The copy of the result listing referred to by the court order as the ledger containing the results of all the candidates (001 – 221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school is hereby certified, attached and marked: Exhibit WA1.”

    The plaintiff’s lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court’s decision. Adeleke’s counsel Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement. He said the judge erred in law by going out of his way to source for evidence to arrive at his “unjust conclusion”.

    The lawyer said the court was wrong when it ignored WAEC’s evidence that Adeleke was educated up to secondary school as required by law.

    Oke said his client was  qualified for the election and met the constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level.

    He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school.

    Oke said he drew the court’s attention to the fact that the case was statute barred in view of the fourth alteration to the Constitution, because as a pre-election matter it was filed outside the stipulated 14 days, but “the judge said my argument was an attempt to arrest his judgment”. “He went ahead to read the judgment.

    He went on: “They said he (Adeleke) did not attend secondary school. They (the plaintiffs) were the one who asked that officials of WAEC be subpoenaed to produce his result. And officials of WAEC tendered his result in court.

    What else do they want to prove that he was educated to secondary school level as required by the Constitution?”

    The lawyer said the issue had been settled by an earlier judgment of a High Court of Osun State, which held that Adeleke was qualified to stand election, having been educated up to secondary school level.

    “We have asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment,” Oke said.

  • Breaking: Court voids Adeleke’s participation in Osun gov poll

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja has voided the participation of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment on Tuesday,  annulled Adeleke’s nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that Adeleke offended section 177 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

    “The section states that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to secondary school level.

    Justice Musa said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated.

    The judge said Adeleke’s name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by two members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb.

    Read also: Osun tribunal judgment: PDP supporters celebrate Adeleke’s victory

    While plaintiff’s lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court’s decision, lawyer to Adeleke, Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement.

    Oke said his client qualified for the election and met the relevant constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level.

    He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school.

    “I asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment,” Oke said.

    Details shortly…

  • Osun youths protest against tribunal judgement

    A group of youths in Osun State under the aegis of the Osun Concerned Citizens on Wednesday protested judgement of the Osun Election Petition Tribunal on the September 22, 2018 governorship poll.

    Last Friday, the 3-person tribunal ruled the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship, Senator Ademola Adeleke, was the winner of the poll.

    At the peaceful protest, the youths, in their hundreds, marched round major streets of Osogbo, the state capital, from Ayetoro junction via Old Garage and Okefia to Olaiya area.

    The youths, who carried placards with various inscriptions like “Oyetola remains our governor,”; “We voted for Governor Oyetola”; “We cannot be intimidated” among others caused a traffic gridlock for many hours.

    Addressing the crowd, the General Secretary of the group, Comrade Yaya Ademola, said the protest was necessary to sensitise the people about issues associated with the Osun governorship election.

    He noted the lacuna in the ruling of the tribunal, which declared  Adeleke the authentic winner of the September 22, 2018 gubernatorial election.

    Expressing optimism the Court of Appeal would overturn  the tribunal judgment, he said any attempt to distort the majority votes would be  resisted.

    He said: “The said verdict, which is a split decision by which a majority of 2 of the 3 member Panel, purportedly declared Mr. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the September, 22 and 29, 2018 Governorship Election is clearly unacceptable to us and the overwhelming majority of the people of Osun in general and the Electorate in particular.

    “Our concern in this matter is not just a partisan disavowal of a judgment that is unfavourable to our preferred candidate, Mr. Isiaka Gbeyega Oyetola of the All Progressive Party.

    ‘’Our rejection of the said verdict is borne out of the clear fact that it is a thinly disguised attempt at clothing the product of a black-market judicial heist with the garb of legality in the hope that it may acquire legitimacy.

    “Notwithstanding the fact that a proper legal response to this unjust verdict has been entered at the Court of Appeal, we hasten to say that the basis with which the majority judgement was made is strange and baseless.

    “In the first instance, the claim of the majority judgement to declare that the 29/09/2018 rerun illegal, on the basis that only Polling Officer and not Returning Officer could cancel results in the 7 Polling Units across the 3 Local Governments in the rerun does not arise.

    ‘’Neither the Polling Officer nor Returning Officer cancelled elections in the affected areas. Elections didn’t take place. Where it did, it was disrupted with ballot boxes snatched and carted away with no returns.’’

    He added: “In Orolu, Ife South and Ife North, elections were disrupted with no returns. In Unit 017, Ward 5 , Osogbo LG, election did not hold at all and no returns.

    ‘’Under this circumstance, it is a settled case at the Supreme Court in James Faleke vs INEC (2016),that where the difference between the two leading candidates will be determined by the votes of places where elections didn’t hold or disrupted, there will be rerun.

    READ ALSO: Four journalists brutalised in Osun protest

    “This situation is not peculiar to Osun. Below are some examples of rerun: a. 2011 Anambra Senatorial Election between leading APGA and ACN with a margin of 697 against the cancelled 7,930 votes. b. 2013 Anambra Guber Election between leading APGA and PDP with a margin of 79,754 against 113,113 cancelled votes. c. 2015 Imo Guber Election between leading APC and PDP with a margin of 79,529 against cancelled votes of 144,715.

    “2015 Bayelsa Guber Election between leading PDP and APC with a margin of 33,154 against 120,000 cancelled votes.

    e. 2015 Guber Election between leading leading APC and PDP with a margin of 41,353 and 49,953 cancelled votes.

    “Again, the Petitioner didn’t prove that election took place or there were returns in the affected areas. He did not even plead that the rerun is illegal. When has Court become a father Charistmas who gives what was not prayed for to declare the rerun illegal?

    “Again, how could the Majority of 2 out of 3 deduct votes in 23 units merely for the fact that INEC did not properly fill Form EC8A? How could 23 units of the entire 3,010 could be substantial enough, assuming it is non-compliance with electoral rule for Judges to alter votes of the people more so, when the Petitioner didn’t demand for it? If it is substantial enough, would it not make better sense to pronounce rerun in the 23 units instead of the algebra, subtraction and addition with which the majority 2 turned themselves?

    “We are concerned and indeed alarmed that rather than adjudicate in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Electoral Act that emphasises Substantial Compliance or lack of it or want of it as the basis for proving the validity or otherwise of the election of a candidate, the majority decision of the Tribunal  arbitrarily pitched its tent with the formal irregularity of the failure of INEC to fill certain columns of the Result Sheets even when they do not affect the number of votes scored by candidates! This amounts to a disingenuous working to a predetermined answer.

    “Under Civil Rule, Electorate votes determine who governs the State and it is by simple majority. Election Tribunal cannot substitute itself for the electorate role – vis-a-vis voting. Osun Concerned Citizens stand for Democracy and Justice. We firmly believe that the Electorate in Osun had spoken and the attempt by the majority decision to turn the Tribunal into a ‘’Selectotate’’ shall be resisted.

    “We shall not rest until true Justice is done in the final determination of all appellate proceedings. No to Jankara Justice! Osun electorate have spoken through their majority votes!! Attempts to obstruct our votes shall be vehemently resisted.”

  • Obasanjo: Opponents of Atiku’s election petition Nigeria’s enemies

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday branded as enemies of Nigeria those urging his former deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar not to go to court to challenge his loss in last month’s presidential election.

    Obasanjo in a statement in Dubai where he is attending a function said the reason he had refrained from speaking on the outcome of the February 23 presidential election was because Atiku had gone to court to seek redress.

    “We will continue to sustain Nigeria in stability and unity on the altar of justice, equity, fairness, freedom, human rights and democracy. Stability cannot be successfully built on injustice, corruption, inequity, and divided nation, and incompetence, nepotism and one-sidedness,” he said.

    The former president also welcomed Friday’s declaration of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the September 2018 governorship election in Osun State by the State Election Petitions Tribunal.

    He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was wrong to have proclaimed Governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner in the first place.

    The former president said it was a “desperate attempt to change the will of the Osun people.”

    He said the Osun State election tribunal  legal process  “gives renewed confidence in the judiciary at a time when there are coordinated efforts by some political leaders to undermine, if not destroy, it.”

    He added: “As I have repeatedly said, the world is watching events in Nigeria with keen interest. What we do or do not do right in our electoral process will have implications not just for Nigeria but for Africa and indeed the world. By correcting what was clearly a desperate attempt to change the will of the Osun people, the tribunal has saved Nigeria from great embarrassment and started the process of saving and strengthening our democracy.

    “Let me also commend Sen. Adeleke for his statesmanship in going to court to seek justice. This is the right and proper thing to do in any decent society. Going to court must be encouraged and not discouraged as some people are now attempting to do.

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    “While I have refrained from commenting on the 2019 elections because one of the parties has gone to court, may I point out that those who call themselves our development partners and friends and preach sacrificing justice on the altar of so-called stability are enemies of justice, democracy and Nigeria. We will continue to sustain Nigeria in stability and unity on the altar of justice, equity, fairness, freedom, human rights and democracy. Stability cannot be successfully built on injustice, corruption, inequity, and divided nation, and incompetence, nepotism and one-sidedness.

    “Nigeria will march forward with or without those who will want to feed us with diet of values and actions that are not acceptable in their own countries. Nigeria is of age. And if Buhari could go to court three times to seek justice, even without reasonable cause, any Nigerian who feels denied of justice must feel free to go to court.

    “Those who have conceived and are promoting the narrative that if Atiku Abubakar continues to seek legal redress there will be violence, are evil minds looking for excuse to unleash violence on Nigerians. At no time in history has sustainable peace been built on theft, injustice, corruption and inequity. These merchants of chaos and violence should have no place in any decent society. And they must know that no intimidation or prophesy of violence and doomsday will cow anybody. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians. We will respect as friends those who believe that what is good for their country should be good for Nigeria. Yes, we are Africans but we have values that are consistent with international standards. Court is part of our democratic process and it must be used when necessary if only to achieve justice, stability, unity and progress for our country.”