Appeal Court Adjourns Senator Adeleke’s Eligibility Case

Funke AzeezApril 25, 2019

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The hearing of appeal filed by Senator Ademola Adekele , PDP candidate for Osun State in the September 2018 governorship election , was on Thursday stalled in Court of Appeal, Abuja on account of improper service .

Adeleke had approached the appellate court to challenge the decision of Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court in Bwari , Abuja, made on April 2 and invalidating his status as PDP governorship candidate .
News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb , both of the Osun chapter of the All Progressive Congress , instituted the suit , accusing Adeleke of not possessing the requisite educational qualification .

At the resumed hearing , Mr . Bankole Komolafe, Counsel for Raheem and Habeeb , noted that four vital pages of the Notice of Appeal served on him were not included .

Komolafe also submitted that the development had prevented him from filing his respondents ’ brief .
Mr . Nathaniel Oke ( SAN ) , Counsel for Adeleke , earlier told the court that he had met all conditions preparatory for the definite hearing of the appeal .
Oke informed the court that the four listed respondents were duly and promptly served with the Notice of Appeal on April 15 .

He , therefore, described the inability of the counsel to the first ( Raheem ) and second ( Habeeb ) respondents to file his client ’s responses as a violation of the court ’s practice direction , which allows them only five days to respond .

Komolafe subsequently countered Oke ’s argument , saying that it was misleading for Oke to rest his submission on the court ’s practice direction on a pre – election matter .

Justice Stephen Adah , leading two other justices of the court, upheld Komolafe’s argument and discountenance Oke ’ s arguments .

“If you have errors in your record , it is your responsibility to correct them .

“ Why do you have to serve counsel with incomplete process and still go ahead to put the blame on them ?
“This is not an election petition ; so , the practice direction where respondents are only given five days to respond to processes applied.

“In the circumstance, you must correct the record and give them time to respond . The matter is therefore adjourned until May 2 for hearing of the appeal ,” Adah held.

The other respondents are APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission .

NAN reports that Adeleke is praying the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the trial court as , according to him , the court relies on inadmissible evidence to arrive at its decision.
The trial court’ s findings showed that Adeleke was admitted into Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State , in 1976, but without a record showing that he graduated.

The court also found that the results Adeleke attached to INEC ’ s form CF 001 contradicted the one presented to the court by the Principal of Ede Muslim High School , where he claimed to have graduated from .
NAN reports that Adeleke has since been returned as duly elected governor of the state by the Osun State Election Tribunal , but that decision is being challenged by Adegboyega Oyetola , APC candidate declared winner of that election .