The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, criticized the counsel representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, for a significant oversight in their presentation before the tribunal.
The PDP was admonished for not adhering to the court’s directive, which states that documents intended to be presented in court should have been submitted from the bar for all parties to scrutinize and authenticate.
During the proceedings, Godwin Uche, the counsel for the PDP and Adebutu, informed the tribunal that they were ready to begin the trial promptly. He stated that they had provided the list of scheduled documents and physically presented all the required documents before the tribunal.
In response, Remi Olatumura, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), objected on legal grounds, cautioning against such an oversight. Olatumura emphasized the importance of the petitioner showing the documents to all parties beforehand, as he had not yet seen the documents for authentication despite being ready to proceed.
Similarly, Kehinde Ogunwunmiju, counsel for the second respondent, Governor Dapo Abiodun, pointed out that according to the procedural rules, the over 6,000 documents should have been presented from the bar earlier for all parties to examine and confirm their validity. Ogunwunmiju highlighted that the PDP’s counsel had followed this procedure in a similar case in Ebonyi State but chose to act differently in Ogun State.
Ogunwunmiju argued that the parties required more time to inspect and authenticate the voluminous documents. He also requested the list of witnesses at least 24 hours before the commencement of the case, which the PDP failed to provide.
Supporting the positions of the first and second respondents’ counsel, Kunle Kalejaiye, who represented the third respondent, the All Progressives Congress (APC), unequivocally stated, “we have to look at the documents. The tribunal has the responsibility to ensure the needful is done. These are very serious and strategic documents. They should have invited us to come and view.”
Kalejaiye urged the tribunal to grant a two-day extension for a proper scrutiny of the documents.
In the ruling, tribunal Chairman H. N. Kunaza agreed that the PDP had failed to comply with the court’s directive, which required the documents to be presented from the bar for thorough verification and authentication by all parties involved.