OSUN ELECTION: COURT ORDERS WAEC TO PRODUCE ADELEKE’S RESULTS IN FIVE DAYS
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Bwari, Abuja, has ordered the West African Examination Council to produce the results recorded by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, in the May/June 1981 examinations conducted by the council.
Justice O. A. Musa, ruling on an ex parte application by two plaintiffs, Mr Wahab Raheem and Mr Adam Habeeb, specifically ordered the examination body to produce in court the ledger containing results of Ademola and his mates with whom he sat for the examinations.
The judge also ordered that WAEC should swear to an affidavit either denying or confirming that Adeleke, an incumbent senator representing Osun West Senatorial District in the Senate, sat for the Council’s May/June 1981 examinations conducted by the council at Ede Muslim High School in Ede, Osun State.
The court ordered that WAEC should file the ledger and the verifying affidavits within five days of being served with the enrolled order.
Adeleke, who is the candidate of the PDP in the governorship poll slated to hold on September 22, has been accused of forging his WAEC certificate.
But the senator has since denied the allegation which he said was a lie being peddled by his political detractors.
The two plaintiffs, Raheem and Habeeb, had filed a suit seeking Adeleke’s disqualification as the PDP’s candidate for the Osun State governorship election.
They joined Adeleke, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission as the first, second and the third defendants, respectively.
They had, on September 4, filed their ex parte application dated September 3, seeking, among other prayers, an interim injunction against the senator’s candidacy in the imminent governorship race.
On September 11, the plaintiffs’ counsel, B.J. Komolafe, moved the ex parte application.
Ruling shortly after hearing the lawyer, the judge granted other prayers but refused the applicants’ prayer for a restraining order.
The judge refused to grant an order restraining INEC from recognising or giving effect to Adeleke’s nomination as PDP’s governorship candidate in the forthcoming poll slated to hold on September 22.
The judge also refused to grant another prayer by the applicants requesting an order directing or mandating Adeleke to show cause why the court should not disqualify him from contesting in the Osun State governorship election.
While refusing the two prayers numbered IV and V, Justice Musa ordered that in their place, the PDP and INEC must “show cause within five days from the day of service of the originating summons” why they should not be stopped from recognising Adeleke’s candidacy.
“That orders IV and V are hereby refused in its place, the defendants are to show cause within five days from the day of service of the originating summons,” the judge ruled.
But he made an order “compelling the West African Examination Council of 21, Hussey Street, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, through its Director-General or any other designated officer of the council to depose to an affidavit confirming or denying that the 1st defendant in this suit named Adeleke Ademola Candidate No. 19645/149 sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the Council at Ede Muslim High School at P.O Box 6, Yidi Road, Ede, Osun State, and to file same before this honourable court within five working days of being served with the order.”
The court also granted leave to the applicants to serve the court papers filed in the suit through substituted means.
[PUNCH]
