Tribunal admits Adeleke’s results, Oyetola, APC close case

Former Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, and his party, the All Progressives Congress and the petitioners before the Election Petition Tribunal hearing matters emanating from the July 16 governorship election on Saturday closed their case.

The panel at the hearing admitted original copies of Form CF001 and all its attachments used by Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to contest 2018 governorship elections.

The documents presented to the panel by the Independent National Electoral Commission through a Deputy Director, Joan Arabs, after counsel for the petitioners, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had checked through them, were admitted as exhibits.

Earlier, counsel for INEC, the 1st respondent in the matter, Mr. Henry Akunebo, informed the panel that an original file of Adeleke’s GCE results, testimonial as contained in Form CF001 which he used to contest the 2018 election, had been brought by his clients in compliance with the order of the tribunal.

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At last Thursday’s sitting, INEC on subpoena by the panel, had presented the documents, but Adeleke’s GCE results and testimonial obtained from Ede Muslim Grammar School, Ede, were noted to be blurry and the commission was ordered to bring a clearer copies at the next sitting.

Counsel for Adeleke, the second respondent in the matter, Mr Niyi Owolade, and that of PDP, the 3rd respondent, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, said they had gone through original copies brought by the 1st respondent, noting that the documents were more legible than the previous ones presented.

After going through the documents, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who represented the petitioners, said they were legible enough and applied to tender them before the panel.

However, counsel for the respondents opposed tendering of the documents, but reserved their argument till the final written address stage.

Izinyon also said the entire documents and attachment could not be admitted, since only two pages were said to be blurry out of the ones previously brought by INEC.

But Fagbemi insisted that the entire documents should be admitted since the copies earlier brought by INEC had not been admitted by the panel.

The panel admitted all the original documents brought by INEC and tagged them exhibit ‘FILE D.’

Fagbemi, while further addressing the panel, said the the petitioners had closed their case.

The panel chairman, Justice Tetse Kume, adjourned further hearing till December 20 for the respondents to open their case.