Osun guber: Tribunal admits Oyetola’s documentary evidence as Ademola kicks

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal has admitted documentary evidence presented by Counsels as part of proceedings in the suit challenging the victory of Ademola Adeleke as Governor-elect of the state.

Among the documents admitted in evidence by the tribunal were the INEC Regulation and Guideline for the election, INEC Manual for Electoral Officials, forms EC8As which are election results for Osogbo, Ede North and Ede South local governments, among others.

This is just as the Counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Paul Ananaba, declined consent to documents issued as Certified True Copies (CTC) by the Commission.

At the resumed hearing of the tribunal on Tuesday, counsel for the Osun Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, informed the tribunal that the documentary evidence sought to be tendered had been cross-checked by the respondents and they all agreed that it should be tendered from the bar.

He then sought to tender the documents as listed on the schedule already submitted to the tribunal, which includes the regulations and guidelines issued by INEC for the election.

Ananaba subsequently raised an objection to all the documents which had already been certified by the Commission.

Ananaba also insisted on objecting to all the documents as listed in the schedule and hinted that he would give reasons for his objection in the final written address.

Counsel for Ademola Adeleke, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, and the PDP, Alex Izinyon, also objected to the admissibility of the evidence and indicated that they would give reasons in their final addresses.

Responding to their objections, Fagbemi sought to tender another piece of evidence which contained the ‘Schedule of the Documents’ to be tendered but Ananaba again objected on the grounds that it was never pleaded.

In his ruling, the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Tertsea Kume, admitted in evidence all the documents tendered and marked them as exhibits.

After the ruling, the petitioners’ counsel informed the tribunal that the tendering of other documents would be continued on Wednesday, as the list of the documents to be tendered in the next sitting had been given to the respondents’ counsel to cross-check.