The ruling of the Osun State Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal has been overturned by the Abuja Appeal Court.
The Court upheld Ademola Adeleke’s election as governor of Osun State.
Details to follow…
The Osun State governorship election appeal tribunal has disclosed how Ademola Adeleke, the state governor, allegedly falsified his certificate.
The tribunal ruled on Friday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the July 16 governorship election, Gboyega Oyetola, had proven Adeleke’s allegation of forgery.
The panel, however, ruled that the forgery case was insufficient to bar Adeleke from running in the election.
Adeleke, according to the tribunal, had obtained further qualifications.
While delivering the decision, the three-man panel chaired by Justice Tertsea Kume remarked that the petitioners were able to prove a forgery case against Adeleke because EC9, the affidavit in support of personal particulars about the governor, told “a falsehood about itself.”
On the issue of forgery, Justice B.A. Ogbuli, who issued a dissenting opinion in the case, agreed with the majority opinion on disqualification.
The tribunal held: “Respondent through Mrs Joan Arabs produced FILE D which was tendered in evidence. The said exhibit FILE D is in respect of the election conducted by the 1st respondent in 2018.
“Exhibit EC9, as earlier indicated, is the affidavit in support of the personal particulars of the 2nd respondent which he presented to the 1st respondent for the election of the 16th of July, 2022.
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“On page two of exhibit EC9, the 2nd respondent (Adeleke), in his handwriting, wrote under (1) School Attended (Educational qualification with dates: Thus: 2. Secondary Ede Muslim Grammar School, Eede – attended 1976 – 1981, Penn Foster High School Diploma -2021
“3. Higher Atlanta Metropolitan State College – BSC Criminal Justice 2021.
“On page 4, of exhibit EC9, there is a letter of attestation from Ede Muslim High School dated 22nd of May, 2016.
“Learned counsel for the petitioners, as earlier stated, referred to the different names in the schools reproduced above and the evidence admitted by RW2 under cross-examination, that Osun State was created in 1991, and as such, any evidence that a qualifying certificate or document stating that it was from Osun State in 1981 is a forgery.”
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The appeal submitted by the state’s former governor, Gboyega Oyetola, challenging Senator Ademola Adeleke’s win in the July 16 governorship election was delayed by the Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal on Friday.
Justice Tertsea Kume, the chairman of the three-person panel, postponed communication of the verdict to the parties until the petitioner and respondents had adopted their final written addresses in Osogbo, the state capital.
On August 5, Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress filed a petition with the tribunal in Osogbo.
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Oyetola and the APC contested the results of the election from 749 polling places spread throughout 10 local government areas of the state due to several purported electoral irregularities, most notably over-voting.
With 403, 271 votes to Oyetola’s 375,027, the Independent National Electoral Commission pronounced Adeleke the victor of the governorship race.
In an earlier written speech, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for the APC, stated that all paperwork was filed and delivered on January 8.
Fagbemi adopted all written submissions, including objections on legal grounds, and he also disputed all prior objections made by the respondents, pleading with the court to grant all of his requests and submissions.
Sections 51 (2) and 47(2) of the Electoral Act, which deal with the annulment of polling places where there are more votes cast than there are registered and authorized voters, were mentioned by Fagbemi.
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Additionally, the testimony provided by Governor Adeleke, according to Mr. Akin Olujimi, SAN, counsel for Oyetola, did not demonstrate that he attended Muslim Grammar School in Ede.
Olujimi rejected the respondents’ assertion that Governor Adeleke was qualified to run for office, and he said that the testimonial Adeleke provided was falsified because it was obtained in 1988 from Osun State, despite the fact that Osun was just founded in 1991.
He claims that the response ought to have argued that the error was a typographical one, but they never did.
All of the documents submitted by the respondent’s attorney, according to Olujimi, were unrelated to one another and without any probative value.
Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN, the attorney for INEC, submitted his own arguments and offered the court his final written addresses dated December 30, 2022, which were also filed on that date, along with legal arguments in response, which were filed on January 9 and January 11, respectively.
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Ananaba claimed that INEC was required to certify that the respondent, Adeleke, was eligible to run for governor, which they did. He then adopted all of the presented documents as his final written statement.
He said, “the petitioners complained of over-voting and infractions by picking 749 polling units to contend with from 1750 polling units, according to the first respondent witnessed (RW1).
“If the deduction of 1750 units was carried out from the total 3763 units in the state, the second respondent will still emerge as the winner with over 20,000 votes.”
Gov. Ademola Adeleke’s attorney, Mr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, adopted all of the submitted documents as his client’s last written address and urged the tribunal to deny the petitioner’s request.
Ikpeazu claimed that the Court of Appeal had addressed the contention about Adeleke’s credentials and right to run for governor.
Regarding the over-voting claim, Ikpeazu testified before the court that BVAS machines were used to create certified true copies of accreditation documents and that BVAS was the main source of accreditation.
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He added that extraction from the BVAS computers was distinct from extraction from the INEC database.
Ikpeazu said that despite having signed the results as valid, the petitioners’ agents did not challenge any polling unit results on election day.
” The entries in form EC8A tallied with figures on the forms as being contended by the petitioners.
“You can not determine over-voting proper without the application of the BVAS machines,” he said.
The PDP’s legal counsel, Mr. Alex Iziyon, SAN, also accepted all written materials filed and provided on legal points.
Iziyon claimed that the Court of Appeal’s decision had resolved the petitioners’ claim of certificate forgery, making it irrelevant.
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According to reports, political thugs damaged some Igbo entrepreneurs’ shops at Old Garage in Osogbo, the state capital.
In a popular video seen by Anaedoonline.ng, traders from the country’s east are allegedly attacked outside their stores for their choice of candidate in Saturday’s governorship election.
Because they backed Senator Ademola Adeleke, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in last Saturday’s gubernatorial election, the thugs allegedly vandalized their counters, according to a man behind the video.
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Pastor John Dike, the leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Osun State, confirmed the attack and stated that no one was hurt and that everything is under control.
He claimed that those responsible for destroying the Igbo vendors’ counters were angry about the results of the governorship election.
“You know, in an election like this, you can’t rule out the possibility of dissatisfied persons. It’s not anything serious. Some of our people had their counters destroyed but we have brought that under control as I speak to you now.
“We are not taking any serious actions against it because we know that there are skirmishes of things like this when elections come up and go.
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“The Yorubas that we live in their land are peace-loving people and we have been living friendly. So, it is something we can handle. There is no one injured as I speak to you,” he said.
Why is Tinubu thugs destroying Igbo businesses in Osun state?
pic.twitter.com/9lFH216L77— Chude Nnamdi (@chude__) July 18, 2022
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According to Professor Wole Soyinka, those who elevate people with moral baggage and doubtful character to “unmerited national prominence” should learn a lesson from the outcome of the Osun gubernatorial race.
Ademola Adeleke, a candidate for governor for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated All Progressives Congress governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the Saturday election.
In a statement responding to the defeat of the APC, Soyinka claimed that the late Justice Minister Ajibola Ige could still be heard speaking from the afterlife.
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He said: “Those who conspired to catapult his destroyers to unmerited national prominence, to insult the memories of the living, and jettison basic ethical constraints, have been justly served.
“It is a lesson that speaks to other zones of rightful public expectations, equity, and just entitlements.
“One despairs but continues to hope that there are still receptive minds in which such lessons will germinate.
“If we may adapt a wise saying from the ancients: the beast of burden, nicknamed Equity, ambles its mined course to destination but, sooner or later, that donkey arrives.”
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Popular Nigerian musician Davido has explained why he actively supported his uncle, Senator Ademola Adeleke, in the race for governor of Osun State.
Following the Osun election on Sunday, Adeleke was proclaimed the victor after defeating incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola by 404,371 votes.
Family is vital to Davido, who has led the way in his uncle’s campaign and inspired his followers to get involved.
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The “OBO” singer added that Adeleke is the ideal candidate for the position in a post-win interview.
Davido said, “I campaigned for my Uncle because to me family is everything and we are the best people for the job.
“Give us one or two years and you’ll see.”
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Before the governorship election in Osun State on Saturday, the police and other security services, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, have declared war on vote-buyers and created strategies to disrupt their actions.
To prevent electoral fraud, the security services sent detectives, including undercover agents, to observe the election and detain vote-buyers.
In addition, the Civil Defense Corps, Amotekun Corps, and troops will be sent out to assist the police.
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Vote-buying has tarnished the credibility of recent elections in the nation as voters are extensively persuaded at voting places by representatives of political parties to influence the results in favor of the highest spender.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, revealed the police strategy against vote-buying in an interview with Newsmen on Tuesday. He added that the force will not put up with any electoral fraud during the Osun election.
He explained that the police would make use of the Federal Intelligence Bureau, the Tactical Corps, and the Special Forces to lessen the instances of vote-buying.
The Federal Intelligence Bureau is the pinnacle of the Force’s intelligence gathering, according to the Nigeria Police Force website, www.npf.gov.ng. It is the sole division of the Force that offers information on criminal activity and national security.
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The force spokesman responded that the Force Intelligence Bureau will be there when asked whether the police would send undercover officers to observe the election and detain anyone buying votes.
He said: “The FIB operatives are there, Tactical Corps have been deployed to Osun, including my department-Public Relations Department. So every unit and sector of the department of police is involved.
“Don’t forget that we have the Electoral Offences Desk officer who happens to be the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of CID in Osun state. He will collate and investigate all electoral offences. They are there to do their job while we appeal to the people of the state to be calm and law-abiding.”
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