The Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, presented an alleged jail booking record and incident report from Florida Metropolitan Police in the United States as evidence before the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday, where they are challenging Governor Dapo Abiodun’s election.
Abiodun was proclaimed the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, the PDP and Adebutu disputed the outcome and petitioned the tribunal to declare Abiodun’s election invalid.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Chris Uche (SAN), counsel for Adebutu and the PDP, brought one of their star witnesses, Ogun State PDP youth leader Oyejide Sunkanmi, to testify against Abiodun.
In his deposition testimony, Oyejide mentioned a supposed jail booking record and incident report from Florida Metropolitan Police in the United States against Abiodun.
Uche presented the documents, which were allowed as evidence in favour of the PDP and Adebutu’s argument.
In the run-up to the governorship race, the opposition party claimed that Abiodun was imprisoned in Miami Dade County, Florida, for credit card theft in 1986.
The panel also included as evidence a photograph of criminals on motorbikes reportedly hauling away voting boxes.
It also acknowledged to having a preloaded top-up card that was reportedly used for vote-buying during the election.
Two letters from the PDP to INEC, protesting the violation of the margin lead principle, were also produced and entered into evidence.
Counsel for INEC, Dr Remi Olatubora (SAN), counsel for Abiodun, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), and counsel for the APC, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), all withheld their challenges to the admission of the papers until their final written addresses.
Olatubora called the documents “cancerous,” adding, “These documents for example are not true, they are not pleaded.”
cc: Punch Ng
