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| Senator Ademola Adeleke |
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 judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory which ruled that Adeleke did not possess a school certificate.
Adeleke, who was elected a senator in 2017, has since appealed against the judgement, while the Court of Appeal in Akure had in another case ruled that the senator and the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in the September 2018 poll possessed the educational qualification to contest for elective offices.
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 judgement 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 judgement 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 judgement 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.
Olaniyi stated in a supporting affidavit, “Myself and the 2nd plaintiff (Monsuru) believed honestly that the 1st defendant must have been well educated in the United States of America; hence, we voted for him at the election to represent us at the 3rd defendant despite not being members of the 2nd defendant (Peoples Democratic Party).
“ I was shocked to the marrow when a neighbour informed me, while in the company of the 2nd plaintiff on 22nd April, 2019, that a high court of the Federal Capital Territory, holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja, in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/ 122/2018 had delivered a judgement, wherein the secondary school testimonial attached to the Form CF001 submitted by the 1st defendant in the course of his aspiration to become the governor of Osun State was fake and that the 1st defendant was not qualified, based on same, to contest for the position of governor as provided by our laws.
“I was also mocked by my friends and relatives, who were present when the information regarding the aforementioned judgement of court was given as they had earlier warned me against my decision to vote for the 1st defendant at the said senatorial election.
“On enquiry, the said.neighbour gave me a certified true copy of the judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/122/2018 delivered on 2nd April, 2019, which he obtained after he had paid the assessed fees.”
He added, “I thereafter made an application to the 5th defendant (INEC) for the release of certified true copies of the Form CF001 and attached documents submitted to the 5th defendant by the 1st defendant in the course of his aspiration for the seat of senator, representing Osun-West Senatorial District, and same was given to me after I paid the assess fees for same.
“When I compared the secondary school testimonial attached to the Form CF001 submitted by the 1st defendant to the 5th defendant, as evidence of his education up to school certificate level during his aspiration to represent Osun-West Senatorial District, with the one described in the judgement delivered by the high court of the Federal Capital Territory, Holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/ 122/2018 on 2nd April, 2019, I was convinced that they were one and the same.”
But Adeleke, on Sunday, described the suit as laughable and an abuse of court process.
He insisted that he was eligible to contest any election in the country.
In a statement by one of his 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 judgement 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.
“How can any human being still declare such a result as fake or forged? We declare that the suit is frivolous, clearly an abuse of court processes and a waste of the precious time of the judiciary.”
Their request was anchored on an April 2, 2019 judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory which ruled that Adeleke did not possess a school certificate.
Adeleke, who was elected a senator in 2017, has since appealed against the judgement, while the Court of Appeal in Akure had in another case ruled that the senator and the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in the September 2018 poll possessed the educational qualification to contest for elective offices.
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 judgement 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 judgement 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 judgement 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.
Olaniyi stated in a supporting affidavit, “Myself and the 2nd plaintiff (Monsuru) believed honestly that the 1st defendant must have been well educated in the United States of America; hence, we voted for him at the election to represent us at the 3rd defendant despite not being members of the 2nd defendant (Peoples Democratic Party).
“ I was shocked to the marrow when a neighbour informed me, while in the company of the 2nd plaintiff on 22nd April, 2019, that a high court of the Federal Capital Territory, holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja, in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/ 122/2018 had delivered a judgement, wherein the secondary school testimonial attached to the Form CF001 submitted by the 1st defendant in the course of his aspiration to become the governor of Osun State was fake and that the 1st defendant was not qualified, based on same, to contest for the position of governor as provided by our laws.
“I was also mocked by my friends and relatives, who were present when the information regarding the aforementioned judgement of court was given as they had earlier warned me against my decision to vote for the 1st defendant at the said senatorial election.
“On enquiry, the said.neighbour gave me a certified true copy of the judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/122/2018 delivered on 2nd April, 2019, which he obtained after he had paid the assessed fees.”
He added, “I thereafter made an application to the 5th defendant (INEC) for the release of certified true copies of the Form CF001 and attached documents submitted to the 5th defendant by the 1st defendant in the course of his aspiration for the seat of senator, representing Osun-West Senatorial District, and same was given to me after I paid the assess fees for same.
“When I compared the secondary school testimonial attached to the Form CF001 submitted by the 1st defendant to the 5th defendant, as evidence of his education up to school certificate level during his aspiration to represent Osun-West Senatorial District, with the one described in the judgement delivered by the high court of the Federal Capital Territory, Holden at Court No. 13, Bwari, Abuja in Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/ 122/2018 on 2nd April, 2019, I was convinced that they were one and the same.”
But Adeleke, on Sunday, described the suit as laughable and an abuse of court process.
He insisted that he was eligible to contest any election in the country.
In a statement by one of his 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 judgement 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.
“How can any human being still declare such a result as fake or forged? We declare that the suit is frivolous, clearly an abuse of court processes and a waste of the precious time of the judiciary.”
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