Court adjourns vote-buying case against Adebutu, nine others till Sept 26
As the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, resumed proceedings yesterday, many were taken aback as only members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appeared as witnesses for the party.
A PDP member called for cross-examination was Ibuowo Ogunbowale from Sabo, Sagamu, who was accused of disrupting the electoral process after realising that his party was losing at his polling unit.
Ogunbowale was cross-examined by one of the counsel to the respondents, Mrs. Folake Akinlawon, and he agreed to being a member of the PDP and a former aspirant on the platform of the party. He, however, denied his involvement in the crisis that rocked his polling unit.
Also, two other witnesses, Ibuowo Ogunbowale and Adeleye Ayomide, both from Sagamu and members of the PDP, were cross-examined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and APC counsel.
While one affirmed that his lawyer gave him the witness paper and he was not aware of the content, the other confessed that he didn’t agree with the provision of electoral law, which stipulates that voters should quietly vacate polling units after voting.
Meanwhile, another PDP witness, Kehinde Soboyejo, opted for a cutlass as object of oath-taking. Also, Adijat Ayodele, who was called to testify in favour of the PDP, admitted not to have read her witness statement before appending her signature.
However, Faisal Yusuf from Ijoko-Ifo, who also came to testify in favour of the PDP, told the tribunal that he had been a trader for the past 30 years, but his voter card marked ‘BT 591’ read ‘civil servant.’
IN another development, Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta has adjourned hearing in a vote-buying case against Ladi Adebutu and nine others.
At yesterday’s proceedings, Adebutu was absent while the second, third, fourth, fifth and 10th defendants pleaded not guilty to all the four counts and their counsel, Muyiwa Obanewa, subsequently urged the court to grant them bail.
The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, said he was not opposed to bail for the defendants. Justice Akinyemi, who subsequently admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N100,000 and one surety each, adjourned the case till September 26, 2023, for definite hearing.
