Osun Tribunal: Oyetola, APC close case after admission of Adeleke’s certificate as exhibit

• INEC, PDP to open defence December 20

Blessing Akorowosi, Osogbo

The petitioners challenging the declaration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the July 16 Governorship election in Osun have closed the prosecution of the matter, leaving respondents to state their defense.

The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal had earlier compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission to produce a clear certificate of Adeleke, threatening to invoke coercive power if it fails to do so.

The tribunal, on Saturday, admitted in evidence the file containing the secondary school certificate and testimonial of the Governor.

After the production of the documents, the tribunal, while discharging the INEC official, said, “You can now go if you wish to. No policeman will accost you again.”

Subsequently, Oyetola’s counsel sought to tender the documents which contain form CFO01 and its attachments, including Adeleke’s credentials, saying the original file brought to court is a primary evidence and he was comfortable with it.

Counsel for INEC, Chief Henry Agunedo (SAN), said he would be objecting to the admissibility of the documents on the ground that the basis for the production of the whole file was because only two pages of the earlier-produced Certified True Copies were in contention, saying tendering the whole documents was out of place.

Counsel for Adeleke and PDP, Niyi Owolade and Alex Izinyon (SAN) respectively, said they have objections to the tendering of the said documents, but they would reserve their objections till the final address stage.

Ruling on the documents tendered, the tribunal led by Tertsea Kume admitted the credentials and Adeleke’s nomination form as exhibit ‘FILE D’ and was taken as read.

It was after the tribunal admitted the documents that Fagbemi informed the panel that he had decided to close his case, saying, “My Lord, we rest our case”.

When the tribunal asked INEC to open his defense, Chief Agunedo said, it would be difficult for him to open his case on Monday, saying the non-availability of his witnesses would make it practically impossible.

The panel then asked the council to meet and agree on an adjournment date after which the Counsel for INEC briefed the panel on the outcome of the meeting.

Subsequently, the tribunal adjourned the case till December 20 for the respondents to open their defense, saying the adjournment was based on another engagement by the tribunal somewhere else between 12th and 19th December 2022.