Ogun Tribunal: Police, NDLEA Present More Evidences against Adebutu on Vote Buying

As the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, resumed proceedings yesterday, the Nigerian Police and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have released multiple evidences against the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oladipupo Adebutu, on the allegation of vote buying.

Those evidences were tendered through the counsel to the second respondent (Governor Dapo Abiodun), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN). The documents include reports from NDLEA dated March 18, 2023, in relation to the possession of preloaded ATM cards with inscription of Mrs. Caroline Adebutu, mother of the PDP governorship candidate, Adebutu.

It also included the police investigation report of bribery dated May 10, 2023; updated investigation report case of bribery, conspiracy, undue influence and others dated June 7, 2023.

All the documents were accordingly certified and tendered, after he had earlier prayed the court for 30 minutes stand down to enable the second respondent tidy up some issues.

Counsel to the petitioners, Gordy Uche (SAN), in his reaction, objected to all the tendered documents, saying there was earlier agreement among the parties during pre-hearing that a party seeking to tender documents must give the other side 24 hours’ notice before tendering the documents.

He stressed that the documents about to be tendered were never front-loaded in the petition, adding that two of the reports were just certified last Monday.

Uche, however, reserved his objection till his final address, including the WAEC certificate of the second respondent tendered, as he prayed the tribunal for a two-hour stand down to study the documents accordingly, which was granted by the panel.

Counsel to the second respondent, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), agreed with the counsel to the petitioner that a stand down was necessary to enable them study the documents but felt that one hour would be enough.

The Director of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign, Apostle Solomon Sanyaolu, later appeared before the panel after resumption, in which he confirmed the WAEC result of Governor Abiodun to be original in line with paragraphs 86 and 87 of his statement of oath when cross-examined by counsel to the second respondent.

He also confirmed the distribution of ATM cards by Adebutu during the polls by submitting statement of account to that effect in line with paragraph 51 of his statement of oath, including delivery note of the preloaded ATM cards.

The witness, while being cross-examined by the counsel to the third respondent, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN),  said he saw the agents of the petitioner, Oladipupo Adebutu, openly distributing ATM cards, which was reported to the police and necessary investigation was carried out. The report that has since been tendered before the panel and marked as RA17.

He was further asked to confirm that the petitioner ordered 200,000 units of ATM cards loaded with N10,000 on March 18 and 17.  The total amount deployed to buy the ATM cards  and voters totaling N2 billion, 291 million, five hundred thousand, from Account number 24092604, in which the account holder indicated Oladipupo Adebutu.

Meanwhile, counsel to the second respondent, Olanipekun, formally applied to close the case of the second respondent, as the Interim Police Report was marked as RA15 while that of the NDLEA was marked as  RA16.

The tribunal, therefore, adjourned the case till August 9, 2023, for continuation of hearing.