Osun: Oyetola, APC file cross appeal

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the July 16, 2022, Osun State Governorship election, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, and his party, have filed cross appeal to the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal that resolved allegation of forgery in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Adeleke the winner of the election, but the Tribunal panel that heard complaint relating to the poll, annulled Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the winner of the poll, but resolved the issue of certificate forgery in favour of Osun State governor.

INEC, Adeleke, and the PDP have since appealed the judgement to the Court of Appeal, Akure Division.
But in their own cross-appeal, the APC and Oyetola through their Counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and Mr. Akin Olujimi, (SAN) said the Tribunal misdirected itself when it held that the certificate from Atlanta Metropolitan College and a diploma certificate from Penn Foster High School were genuine.

The cross appeal partly read, “Exhibits 2R.RW6 and 2R.RW9 are documents which lied against each other, as Exhibit 2R.RW9 purports that the 2nd Cross- Respondent (Ademola Adeleke) obtained a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice within 24 days of obtaining Exhibit 2R.RW6, a Diploma Certificate which purports on its surface to be an equivalent of Secondary School Certificate.

“It is in evidence before the Tribunal that Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice of the Atlanta Metropolitan College is a four-year full time course which fact the Cross-Appellants pleaded in their petition and was admitted by the 2nd Cross-Respondent; It is the law that facts admitted need no further proof and it is a presumption which only the 2nd Cross-Respondent could rebut as regards the factual impossibility of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree within 24 days of obtaining a School Certificate equivalent, thereby casting the onus of proof on him.”

They further contended, “Having found that forgery was proved by the petitioners against the 2nd cross/respondent in regard to his Exhibits EC9 and FILE D, the tribunal ought to have held pursuant to Section 182(1)(1) that the 2nd respondent was disqualified from contesting the Osun State Governorship election of July 16, 2022.

“Once forgery of a document is established against a candidate in an election, it voids his candidature and the forgery cannot be redeemed or cancelled out by any other document the candidate may have presented alongside the forged document.

“The holding of the Tribunal that the 2nd Cross-Respondent (Ademola Adeleke) was nonetheless qualified to contest the election is inconsistent and in conflict with the clear provision of Section 182(1)(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”