Abiodun’s Symphonic Victory at the Tribunal

Femi Ogbonnikan

After much anxiety and waiting, the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has given its verdict. It has upheld and also revalidated the re-election of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the duly elected governor of the Gateway state in the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial poll.

In the suit, Oladipupo Adebutu (1st petitioner) and Peoples Democratic Party (2nd petitioner) dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (1st respondent), Prince Dapo Abiodun (2nd respondent) and the All Progressives Congress (3rd respondent) to the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Abiodun as Governor for the second term in the March 18, 2023 election.

It was an epic battle of the titans, featuring legal giants representing different parties.

In the unanimous decision of the three-man panel, Justices Hamidu.N Kuzana, J.B Egele and Sanusi Shehu, the tribunal averred that the petition brought by the PDP’s candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu and his party have failed to prove any of the grounds of the petition and thus, are not entitled to any of the reliefs sought. The petition fails and is dismissed. The return of Governor Abiodun was affirmed.

On account of the petition, the court goes further to prove “that some paragraphs of the petition are vague, nebulous, indiscernible, and imprecise.”

It will be recalled that the petitioner, Adebutu, in his petition, had alleged disruption of the election by hoodlums suspected to be political thugs in over 99 polling units, disenfranchisement of over 40,000 voters who could not participate in the March 18, 2023 governorship poll as grounds for seeking his declaration as the winner of the election. To that effect, he had called voters and party agents from Sagamu, Ikenne, Odogbolu, Remo North, Ogun Waterside, Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Ado-Odo/Ota, Imeko-Afon and other local governments as witnesses to prove that there were disruptions in different polling units across the State.

Furthermore, the petitioner a plethora of frivolous accusations of the Electoral Act and corrupt practices perpetrated during the election, etc. The lead counsel to the petitioner, Goddy Uche (SAN) had equally urged the Tribunal to admit all the gamut of documents tendered as evidence against Abiodun as exhibits.

These included INEC forms; BVAS reports; forms ECAs; voters’ registers and printed IREV results.  This is in addition to a 99-page schedule of documents already served on the first, second, and third respondents respectively.

In fact, it’s indeed a whole range of issues compiled to substantiate the petitioner’s desire to upturn the hard-won victory of Governor Abiodun.

Ogun is one of the states in Nigeria where there is always an intriguing but continuous play of adversarial power-politics. Adebutu had introduced a novelty in the definition of his own home-grown politics. He introduced credit cards as inducements for vote-buying. He was thus, charged for vote-buying, disruption of the electoral process, criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and other sundry allegations of manipulation at the tribunal.

For the fear of the unknown, Adebutu is currently on self-exile in an undisclosed location abroad to escape the long arms of the law.

While his lead counsel, Uche fiercely struggled to defend his case before he eventually succumbed to the overwhelming evidence of the electoral malfeasances allegedly committed during the governorship election, declaring that “he was handicapped”.

One of the damning testimonies was made by an official of Zenith Bank Plc, Mrs Celestina Appeal, Head of Card Services who presented evidence of 200,000 pre-loaded ATM cards meant for vote-buying to the tribunal. The startling revelation of the underhand deal followed an earlier submission of two letters written by counsel to the Governor, Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN) to Zenith Bank in February, seeking clarification on how Adebutu opened a special account for the purpose of his action with the bank, as well as the request for the issuance of 200,000 pre-loaded Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards containing N10,000 each, some days away before the Saturday, March 18, 2023 governorship election.

At any rate, Adebutu was only merely running away from his own shadow. As a drowning man who desperately needed a straw to hold on to, the PDP governorship candidate, knowing fully well that he had no route to escape, having been charged to court, raising a counter-accusation of vote-buying against the APC and the governor without any verifiable evidence to substantiate through claims.

In the final analysis, the report presented before the tribunal expressly stated that the allegation of vote-buying levelled against the APC and the governor by the PDP was not substantiated.

The report of the findings read in part: “That contrary to the claims of some of the witnesses brought forward by the PDP, Daniel Obadamilare, Adesina Sakiru, Dauda Kamil, and Ogunleye Francis, their claims of vote buying cannot be substantiated as they were unable to mention the Point Of Sales (POS) agents that were alleged to have converted the cards to cash for them”.

Then, the clincher followed: The tribunal sitting in Abeokuta summarily dismissed the case, declaring it as an afterthought on the ground that it was not part of the original petition filed against the respondents.

Despite all storms, the governor has come out victorious, having survived the underhand plots of political buccaneers. It’s indeed a symphonic victory at the tribunal. There have been seen and unseen hands of those playing God, while attempting to undermine the popular wishes at the governorship election.

Elated and optimistic as he was, the Governor, who spoke at a reception held at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, on Saturday night, shortly after the reaffirmation of his electoral victory, dedicated his victory at the tribunal to God Almighty and the people of the Gateway state for their unalloyed support, while he pledged to rededicate himself towards serving them better the more.

The judgement, according to him, was unprecedented in the annals of the country given the length of hours spent to deliver the verdict. He, however, commended the three tribunal judges for not just ensuring justice, but doing so in a meticulous, diligent and transparent manner.

“We earned it. We deserved it. We won fair and square. You are all a testimony of our triumph, tenacity, resolve and determination.

“I want to thank all the good people of Ogun State that voted me in and all other well-wishers for your prayers, good wishes and support throughout this period.

“We were never in doubt that our hard-earned victory will be affirmed as we placed our trust in God, having worked the hardest campaign in every nook and cranny of Ogun State”, Abiodun averred, while addressing a mammoth crowd.

Ogbonnikan wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital