High court nullifies Senator Adeleke’s nomination for Osun State governorship electio

[Edoman]

High court nullifies Senator Adeleke’s nomination for Osun State governorship election over 'certificate forgery'



 



Justice Oathman Musa of an Abuja High Court sitting in Bwari Area Council of Abuja on Tuesday nullified the nomination of Senator Ademola Adeleke as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the September 2018 Governorship Election in Osun State.    
 
Adeleke, who represents Osun West Senatorial District at the National Assembly was the PDP’s candidate in the 2018 governorship election in Osun state. Two Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, had in 2018 barely few days to the governorship election in Osun State had dragged Adeleke to court, accusing him of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the office of governor.  
 
They prayed the court for an order to disqualify Adeleke from participating in the Sept 22 governorship election in the state on the grounds that he does not possess the requisite educational qualification.  
 
Delivering judgment in the suit Tuesday, Justice Musa annulled Adeleke’s nomination on the grounds that Adeleke offended section 177 of the 1999 constitution as amended. The section stipulated that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to secondary school level.  
 
According to Justice Musa, 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 no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980. Justice Musa further stated that the result Adeleke attached to his 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.  
 
Meanwhile, Adeleke’s lawyer Nathaniel Oke SAN has faulted the judgment of Justice Musa on the grounds that the judge erred in law by going out of hiy way to source for evidence to arrive at his “unjust conclusion”. He submitted that the court erred particularly when it ignored WAEC evidence that Adeleke was educated up to Secondary School level as required by law.  
 
While he disclosed that they will immediately commence filing of their appeal against the Judgment, the senior lawyer expressed confidence that the judgment cannot stand at Appeal Court.  It would be recalled that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) during the court’s proceedings confirmed that Adeleke sat for the May/June examination of the council in 1981.  
 
The council in an affidavit deposed to by one Osindeinde Adewunmi and filed at the registry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court confirmed that Adeleke sat for the Senior Secondary School exams in May/ June 1981. The confirmation was contained in a four paragraph affidavit filed in compliance with the order of Justice Oathman Musa requesting the examination body to confirm whether the governorship candidate sat for the 1981 exams.  
 
Justice Musa, had in a ruling delivered on September 11 directed that WAEC should depose an affidavit, to either deny or confirm that Adeleke sat for the Exams the Council conducted at Ede Muslim High School in Ede, Osun State, in 1981. It equally said the examination body should file the ledger containing results of Ademola and his mates with whom he sat for the examinations, as well the verifying affidavit, within five days of being served with the enrolled order dated September 11.  
 
WAEC however in the sworn affidavit confirmed that, Adeleke with center 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 School situate at P.O. Box 6 Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.  
 
Accompanying the affidavit was a ledger containing the result of all candidates (001-221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school.  The certified true copy of the ledger which is marked as exhibit WA1, however showed that Senator Adeleke, sat for only English Language in the examination. In arguing their case the plaintiffs in through their counsel, Bankole Akomolafe, on Sept 11 claimed that the PDP candidate did not sit for the WAEC examination in 1981 because the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced in the country as at then.  
 
They further alleged that the NECO examination he claimed to have sat for could not be genuine because National Examination Council (NECO) had not been established at the time Adeleke claimed to have sat for the examination.

by Linda

[Edoman]

Dancing senator, Ademola Adeleke, reacts to court judgment nullifying his nomination for Osun state governorship election






Senator Ademola Adeleke has reacted to Tuesday April 2nd judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, nullifying his candidacy as the PDP governorship candidate in the September 2018 governorship election in Osun State.
 
The court which was presided over by Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court in Bwari, Abuja,  nullified Ademola's candidacy over allegations of certificate forgery. Read story here.
 
Reacting to the judgement, Adeleke in a statement released today, described the judgement as “flawed and a travesty of justice.” He indicated that his lawyers are at the moment working to appeal the judgment.
 
Faulting the judgment, Adeleke said, firstly, there has been two different court judgements delivered in September 2018 which held that he Adeleke satisfied all requirements of the law to contest for the office of the governor. He stated that the Tuesday judgment breached the “precept” that “once a court of coordinate jurisdiction has ruled on a matter, court of similar jurisdiction cannot entertain it.”
 
The statement added that the judge “erred in law by failing to take note of the expiration of 180 days for ruling on pre-election matters.”

I“Even when a December 2018 judgment with respect to the issue was presented, the judge chose to ignore it. We note that the judge violated the law by adjudicating over a matter whose filing and hearing period had expired.”

The statement went on to add that the judgment ignored the evidence produced by the West Africa Examination Council which listed “all students who sat for the May/June examination in 1981 alongside the senator, in addition to the certified true copies of his school certificate result.

“From the evidence produced by the Council, it is crystal clear that Senator Ademola Adeleke was, indeed, educated beyond the minimum requirement of ‘up to secondary school level’ as stipulated by law and therefore qualified to run for the office of governor in accordance with Section 177 (D) of 1999 CFRN (as amended). Not withstanding, the judge still went ahead to rule otherwise.
“The only statutory body empowered by law to determine authenticity of a secondary school results is the West African Examination Council and they confirmed the authenticity of Senator Adeleke’s result by producing a CTC of the same result. What evidence did the judge therefore base his ruling on?” the statement read

He added that it as wrong for the judge to conclude that he forged the senior secondary school statement of result which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Adeleke explained that having been shocked by the evidence produced by WAEC showing that he sat for the May/June 1981 examinations, the plaintiffs, again, went on to have the principal of the school to appear in court to confirm the authenticity of the statement of results.

“The principal appeared and confirmed that the statement was genuinely issued by the school and that any error noticed on the statement was that of the school, not that of Senator Adeleke. The school did not, at any point, disown the statement of results.  From the foregoing, we affirm that the judgment of the Bwari court is a travesty of justice, a purchased ruling designed to negatively affect the outcome of Osun governorship judicial process. We declare unequivocally that the ruling, being so glaringly against tested facts and the law, cannot stand. It is also clear that the ruling cannot, in any way, stop the reality that Senator Ademola Adeleke fulfilled constitutional requirements to be Governor of Osun State. 
We appeal to our numerous supporters and good people of Osun State to remain calm. This is another failed bid in the efforts of detractors and enemies of democracy. Senator Ademola Adeleke is not only qualified but by the grace of God will soon be sworn in as the legitimate Governor of Osun State.” the statement read

by Linda Ik

[Edoman]

Story for the gods” – Davido reacts to Senator Adeleke’s election nullification over 'certificate forgery'






On Tuesday, the news of the nullification of Davido’s uncle; senator Adeleke was a trending topic on social media and the singer has reacted.
 
A federal high court sitting in Abuja nullified his candidacy due to ‘certificate forgery’, the senator was dragged to court by two chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, accusing him of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate), to contest for the office of Governor.
 
Davido in his reaction simply described it as “Story for the gods”.


by Linda Ikeji at 03

[Edoman]

"Where Is Buhari's Certificate" - Reno Omokri Reacts To Adeleke's Cert Forgery


After the court nullified the guber position of Senator Adeleke as a result of certificate forgery, Reno Omokri has reacted to it, here is what he wrote...

Source: https://www.musictori.com/2019/04/where-is-buharis-own-certificate-reno.html

[Edoman]

We didn’t see Senator 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.
 
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.”

by Linda Ikeji at