Rasheed Ladoja: closes case

Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the governorship candidate of  the Accord Party in the April 11 poll, today closed his case  before the Oyo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan, after calling  no fewer than 29 witnesses in support of his petition

Ladoja is challenging the victory of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship poll.

Also joined as co-respondents in the petition are APC, Dr Rufus Akeju, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner and the commission.

During Friday’s proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel, Mr Richard Ogunwole (SAN), called three more witnesses including one Kilanko Ezra, Olatayo Shafarudeen and Esuola Moyosore.

They were the party agents of Accord at Saki-East, Atisbo and Atiba Local Government Areas respectively.

Earlier, the respondent had objected to the admissibility of 39 original documents and materials used in the election.

The documents had been tendered by Ogunwole during Thursday’s proceedings.

The documents were brought following a subpoena served on INEC by the tribunal to produce the said documents at the instance of the petitioner.

The documents brought by the Head of Legal Unit for the commission, Mr Omoniyi Fayande, included ballot papers and boxes used in all the 33 local government areas in Oyo State.

The documents also contained election result sheets; incident forms and voters’ registers among others.

A senior counsel to APC, Mr Babatunde Aiku, said that the originals sought to be tendered were irrelevant to the circumstances of the petition.

“ From what has transpired, it is clear that these documents are the original of the certified true copies tendered and marked as exhibits before this tribunal,’’ he had said.

The three-man tribunal presided over by Justice Mohammed Mayaki consequently granted them leave to adduce their reasons in their final addresses.

There was tight security at the Iyaganku venue of the tribunal’s sitting as those allowed in were frisked with metal detectors by stern-looking security operatives.