Lawyer Alleges Intimidation Over Kwara Gov Certificate Matter Suit

An Ilorin based legal practitioner, Olawale Babalola has cried
out over an alleged police intimidation for his involvement in a
suit challenging the authenticity of the WAEC certificat of Kwara
state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq .

Babalola is the counsel to a prospective co-claimant on suit,
Olusola Olasehinde.

The lawyer, alongside his client were in court last Monday with
the bid to move a motion on application for Olasehinde to be joined
in the case.

However, the court, a High Court of the state sitting in Ilorin,
adjourned the matter till June 26 after holding that the case has
not been discontinued by the claimant, Olufemi Abraham, while
ruling that the defendant was still within the time to respond to
the notice of application of joinder by the prospective
co-claimant.

The counsel to the prospective co-claimant alleged that
immediately after the court proceedings last Monday and while still
within the court premises, he was accosted by three policemen in
mufti who arrested him and took him to the Special Investigation
Bureau (SIB) at the state Police Headquarters.

When contacted, the state police public relations officer
(PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, said he did not have the knowledge of the
matter.

The PPRO, who said that the lawyer should feel free to come
forward to meet with the state commissioner of Police with his
complaint, added that he was not aware of the matter.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, Babalola,
together with his client, said that the detectives told him there
was a petition against him that he forged the receipt of filing
fees of the processes of his client filed in the court.

He said he refuted the claim by explaining that he was not the
one who filed the processes but his client, adding that he only
prepared the documents and gave them to the client to file.

The lawyer said despite his explanation and efforts to be
released on bail he was not released by the police as he was made
to pass the night in cell.

Babalola said though through the intervention of some of his
colleague lawyers he was granted bail the following day, the police
still asked him to be reporting to the Bureau.

While also speaking, the client confirmed that he filed the
processes and paid for the filing fees and that the lawyer only
prepared the papers and gave him to file.

Olaseinde wondered why his counsel would be suffering the
alleged intimidation from the police, saying that since he, and not
his counsel, was the one who came up with the application in the
court he was supposed to be taken up on issues connecting with the
matter.

He said he on his own decided to seek to be joined in the
certificate forgery case because he is a registered voter and an
indigene of the state who is interested in assessing the
qualifications of any one who desires to govern the state.

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!