Osun Tribunal Insists INEC Must Produce Adeleke’s Certificates On December 1st

The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal on Friday insisted that the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmud Yakubu, produce the academic certificates and other documents of the state’s Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, submitted to the commission for the 2018 governorship election.

This followed the arguments by the counsel to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Akin Olujimi, counsel to INEC, Prof Paul Ananaba, Adeleke and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the commission failed to present Adelekes certificates.

They contended that the subpoena earlier issued was addressed to REC, not chairman of the commission who is in custody of the certificates.

Justice Tertsea Kume, after listening to the argument of the counsel to Oyetola and other respondents, adjourned ruling till today.

The tribunal on Friday, said application for subpoena is in Administrative Act and when it is granted, it becomes Judicial Act and the party upon which the subpoena is issued must comply, citing Section 218 and 219 of the evidence act.

According to Kume, “the request by the respondents that the petitioners should continue with the calling of the witness whose testimony is hanged on the Adeleke’s credentials was baseless, as the petitioners have the absolute prerogative on how to conduct their case.

The panel said the application was consequent to the failures of the state REC of the commission to produce the documents requested in the subpoena.

“The Petitioners’ have shown sufficient reasons for the tribunal to compel the National Chairman of INEC to produce the documents in question.”

It then dismissed all the objections raised by the counsel for INEC, Adeleke and PDP and compelled the National Chairman of the commission to produce the documents in the next sitting of the panel on Thursday, December 1st 2022.