Court Nullifies Adeleke’s Nomination for Osun Guber Polls over Certificate Forgery

*Adeleke faults judgment, proceeds to Appeal Court

Justice Oathman Musa of an Abuja High Court sitting in Bwari
Area Council of Abuja on Tuesday Nullified the nomination of
Senator Ademola Adeleke as candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), in the September 2018 Governorship Election in Osun
State.

Adeleke, who represents Osun West Senatorial District at the
National Assembly was the PDP’s candidate in the 2018 governorship
election in Osun state.

Two Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab
Raheem and Adam Habeeb, had in 2018 barely few days to the
governorship election in Osun State had dragged Adeleke to court,
accusing him of not possessing the requisite educational
qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the
office of governor.

They prayed the court for an order to disqualify Adeleke from
participating in the Sept 22 governorship election in the state on
the grounds that he does not possess the requisite educational
qualification.

Delivering judgment in the suit Tuesday, Justice Musa annulled
Adeleke’s nomination on the grounds that Adeleke offended section
177 of the 1999 constitution as amended. The section stipulated
that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to
secondary school level.

According to Justice Musa, while the court’s findings showed
that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record
to show that he actually graduated as his name was no longer seen
in the school’s register from 1980.

Justice Musa further stated that the result Adeleke attached to
his form CF001 which he submitted to the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) was fake, as it was found to be
different from the one presented to the court by the principal of
Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

Meanwhile, Adeleke’s lawyer Nathaniel Oke SAN has faulted the
judgment of Justice Musa on the grounds that the judge erred in law
by going out of hiy way to source for evidence to arrive at his
“unjust conclusion”.

He submitted that the court erred particularly when it ignored
WAEC evidence that Adeleke was educated up to Secondary School
level as required by law.

While he disclosed that they will immediately commence filing of
their appeal against the Judgment, the senior lawyer expressed
confidence that the judgment cannot stand at Appeal Court.

It would be recalled that the West African Examination Council
(WAEC) during the court’s proceedings confirmed that Adeleke sat
for the May/June examination of the council in 1981.

The council in an affidavit deposed to by one Osindeinde
Adewunmi and filed at the registry of the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT) High Court confirmed that Adeleke sat for the Senior
Secondary School exams in May/ June 1981.

The confirmation was contained in a four paragraph affidavit
filed in compliance with the order of Justice Oathman Musa
requesting the examination body to confirm whether the governorship
candidate sat for the 1981 exams.

Justice Musa, had in a ruling delivered on September 11 directed
that WAEC should depose an affidavit, to either deny or confirm
that Adeleke sat for the Exams the Council conducted at Ede Muslim
High School in Ede, Osun State, in 1981.

It equally said the examination body should file the ledger
containing results of Ademola and his mates with whom he sat for
the examinations, as well the verifying affidavit, within five days
of being served with the enrolled order dated September 11.

WAEC however in the sworn affidavit confirmed that, Adeleke with
center number 19645 and candidate number 149 indeed sat for the
Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981
conducted by the council at Ede Muslim School situate at P.O. Box 6
Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.

Accompanying the affidavit was a ledger containing the result of
all candidates (001-221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examination in the said school.

The certified true copy of the ledger which is marked as exhibit
WA1, however showed that Senator Adeleke, sat for only English
Language in the examination.

In arguing their case the plaintiffs in through their counsel,
Bankole Akomolafe, on Sept 11 claimed that the PDP candidate did
not sit for the WAEC examination in 1981 because the Senior
Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced in
the country as at then.

They further alleged that the NECO examination he claimed to
have sat for could not be genuine because National Examination
Council (NECO) had not been established at the time Adeleke claimed
to have sat for the examination.