Society Gists

Two voters in the Osun-West senatorial district of Osun State have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to sack Ademola Adeleke as their senator for allegedly misleading them to voting for him.

Their request was anchored on an April 2, 2019 judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, which ruled that Adeleke did not possess a school certificate.

The plaintiffs, Akinwale Olaniyi and Akinjide Monsuru, from Egbedore and Irewole local government areas in Osun-West Senatorial District, said they were misled into voting for Adeleke. They stated in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/462/2019, filed on April 26, 2019, that they voted for Adeleke because he claimed to have lived and schooled in the United States of America.

The plaintiffs said they felt let down, fooled and were devastated when a high court of the Federal High Court in Bwari, Abuja found, in a judgment delivered that Adeleke presented fake credentials to INEC for the election.

They prayed the court to declare, among others, that by the provisions of Sections 65(2)(a)of the Constitution and 31(6) of the Electoral Act and the judgment of the FHC High Court, Adeleke was not qualified to have contested the senatorial election.

The plaintiffs also urged the court to void the declaration of Adeleke as the winner of the said election in view of the court judgment and the provisions of Sections 65(2)(a)of the Constitution and 31(6) of the Electoral Act.

They asked the court to order INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and to give a perpetual order of injunction restraining Adeleke “from parading himself as a senator representing Osun-West in the Senate.”

The plaintiffs equally asked the court to order Adeleke to refund all that he earned while he occupied the seat and to restrain the Senate President and the Senate from further recognising Adeleke as a senator.

But in a statement issued yesterday by one of Adeleke’s lawyers, Niyi Owolade, Adeleke said “the purported voters, who filed the suit are proxy forces” of the All Progressives Congress and Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.

Adeleke accused Oyetola and the APC “of waging futile legal harassment following signs of an imminent end to their usurpation of Osun governorship seat.

“The initial judgment that this irritating suit is based on has been widely condemned, especially as the document wrongly declared as forged was duly issued by the authorities of the school.

“It is in the public domain and court records that the school principal deposed to an affidavit confirming the testimonial and statement of results were duly issued by the school. WAEC’s deputy registrar also came to depose to an affidavit in court with the certified true copies of the same result submitted by Senator Adeleke for his senatorial election screening.