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Judiciary

Osun Tribunal set aside admission of INEC documents

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4 years ago

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Judge Gavel
Judge Gavel
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…To rule on admissibility on Wednesday
Osun State Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday vacated its earlier order which admitted the evidence brought to court by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to defend the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the Governor of the state.
This followed the arguments raised by counsel for Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) that the tendering of the documents by INEC and its admission was a serious fundamental procedural irregularity.
At the resumed hearing of the petition, counsel for INEC, Professor Paul Ananaba, SAN, told the tribunal that he was ready to present his case to defend the Adeleke’s declaration, saying, he had filed four schedules containing the list of witnesses to be called and list of documents to be tendered.
Oyetola’s counsel, Prince Fagbemi SAN said he has seen the schedules containing the EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E and confirmed that they have jointly inspected the documents, saying he had no objection to the tendering of the said schedules.
He also said as for the schedule with respect to the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine, the INEC counsel has not shown the Petitioners’ counsel any of it, hence it should not be allowed to form part of the evidence to be tendered before the tribunal.
While ruling on the application to tender the schedule, the tribunal, led by Justice Tertsea Kume said the column containing the BVAS machine was not substantial enough to cause injury to the case of the petition and subsequently admitted the schedule as exhibit.
The tribunal went further to admit form EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E as exhibit and marked them accordingly.
Immediately after the ruling, Counsel for Oyetola rose and asked the tribunal to vacate its order which admitted the documents on the ground that the said documents as listed in the schedule were not properly tendered.
He said though the Petitioners counsel have jointly inspected the documents with the respondents’, but at the point of its tendering before the court, it must be shown to them to be sure that the documents inspected were the ones sought to be tendered.
He argued: “There is a serious fundamental procedural irregularities here. INEC never sought to tender the documents and could not have done so. What they sought to tender were the schedule containing the list of the said documents. If they were to tender any documents, they will bring them here, but I never saw any.
“The contents of the schedule were never tendered. For it to be tendered, there must be an application to tender them and it is then we will know that what we examined is what is being tendered and then we can say we agree or not. This is cardinal.
“So as not to deny us our right to fair hearing, I will urge your Lordships to vacate the order admitting those documents contained in the schedules”, Fagbemi argued.
Replying to the issue raised by Fagbemi, the Counsel for INEC, Professor Paul Ananaba, SAN, counsel for Adeleke, Onyeachi Ikpeazu SAN and counsel for PDP, Alex Izinyon SAN agreed that there was a procedural issue in the tendering of the documents.
They conceded that the portion where the said documents were admitted should be set aside so that the INEC counsel can re-tender the documents in question.
The tribunal chairman subsequently agreed with the Petitioners’ counsel and set aside the earlier ruling which admitted the documents.
Subsequently, the INEC counsel sought to re-tender the documents, which are form EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E and the petitioners’ counsel said they have objection to the admissibility of the documents but reserved their objections till the final address stage.
Subsequently, the tribunal adjourned the ruling on the admissibility of the documents till tomorrow, Wednesday.

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Judiciary

Court Disqualifies Uzodimma as APC Imo West Senatorial Candidate, Declares Okorocha Primary Winner

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2 weeks ago

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October 29, 2026

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Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has disqualified Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, from presenting himself as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, declaring former governor Rochas Okorocha the winner of the party’s May 18 primary election.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his judgment delivered on Thursday, held that the evidence before the court established that Okorocha secured the majority of votes cast during the primary election conducted by the APC and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Consequently, the court ordered Uzodimma to immediately cease presenting himself as the APC’s senatorial candidate for Imo West. It also directed the party to submit Okorocha’s name to INEC as its duly nominated candidate for the January 16, 2027 senatorial election.

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Judiciary

Wiretapping Allegation: Court Orders El-Rufai to Enter Defence

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2 weeks ago

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October 26, 2026

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Former Kaduna State Governor,Nasir El -Rufai
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and ordered him to enter his defence, if he so wishes, in his ongoing trial over the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications belonging to National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order on Monday while ruling on El-Rufai’s no-case submission, holding that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to warrant calling on the defendant to respond to the allegations.

The dismissal of the no-case submission means the court has found sufficient grounds for El-Rufai to be called upon to present his defence, although it does not amount to a determination of his guilt.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case until November 25 for the defence proceedings.

El-Rufai is standing trial over allegations of unlawfully intercepting Ribadu’s telephone communications, charges he is entitled to defend himself against as the case proceeds.

 

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Judiciary

Imo Court Targets January 2027 for Trial of Five Suspected Kidnappers

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3 weeks ago

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October 22, 2026

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Kidnap Suspects
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An Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri has called for an accelerated hearing of cases involving five suspected kidnappers, directing prosecution and defence counsel to cooperate with the court to ensure judgments are delivered before January 2027.

The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, made the appeal during proceedings involving three defendants accused of abducting prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and two others facing charges in a separate kidnapping case.

At the hearing, a Department of State Services (DSS) investigative officer, Ikem Emmanuel, testified on the investigation that led to the arrest of the three defendants in the NYSC-related case.

Emmanuel told the court that the investigation involved intelligence gathering, phone data analysis, record checks, interviews and statements obtained from the defendants, victims and witnesses.

He further disclosed that an identification parade was conducted, during which victims and witnesses allegedly identified the defendants as members of the criminal gang.

The DSS officer also told the court that one of the defendants, Usman Aliyu, admitted in his statement to participating in the operation and allegedly revealed that 11 persons were involved.

According to the witness, the defendants’ statements were obtained in the presence of their legal representatives and DSS legal officers.

In a separate proceeding involving two other defendants, Emmanuel also testified on the investigation, stating that their statements were equally taken in the presence of their lawyers and DSS legal officers.

Following the proceedings, Justice Orafu adjourned the cases to October 27, 28, 29 and 30 for continuation of hearings.

The judge reiterated the need for all counsel to work closely with the court to ensure the cases are determined expeditiously, with judgments delivered before January 2027.

The five defendants are to remain in DSS custody pending the continuation of proceedings.

The cases followed the abduction of 20 prospective corps members by gunmen on October 1, 2026, near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The victims were reportedly travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their assigned NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were abducted.

They and a civilian were rescued six days later from the Amakohia-Ubi forest in Owerri West Local Government Area.

The DSS subsequently arrested five suspects in intelligence-led operations conducted between October 10 and 14 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba, Abia State.

The court proceedings are expected to continue later this month as the prosecution presents its evidence in the cases.

 

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