Tribunal restrains INEC from tampering with Osun gov poll results

The Election Petition Tribunal constituted to hear the petitions
arising from the Osun State governorship election has granted an ex
parte order to Senator Ademola Adeleke, restraining the Independent
National Electoral Commission from altering election results as
well as information contained in the card reader machines and other
documents used for the poll.

The tribunal, headed by Justice T.A. Igoche, which also has
Justice P. A. Obayi as member, granted this order in Osogbo on
Thursday during its sitting before the commencement of pre-hearing
session.

Adeleke, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party had, through his counsel, Mr. Nathaniel Oke (SAN),
filed an ex parte application seeking leave of the tribunal to file
the application before the pre-hearing session.

The applicant also sought leave of the tribunal to inspect and
obtain certified true copies of electoral documents and materials
in the custody of INEC; an order to conduct physical inspection and
verification of electoral materials and machines, as well as used
and unused ballots, among others.

Adeleke also applied for an order to compel the INEC to produce
and print out list of permanent voter card distribution statistics
per polling units and an order restraining INEC from altering
extracted information from card readers, election results from
polling unit level to state level, as well as ballot papers used
for the conduct of the governorship election in Osun State.

Adeleke predicated his application on the grounds that he was
the candidate that contested the election held on September 22,
2018 and the re-run election held on September 27, 2018 on the
platform of PDP.

Other grounds of the application are: ” That the total votes won
by the 1st applicant on the 22nd day of September, 2018 was 245,698
while the 1st respondent scored 245,345.

“That the 1st applicant was the winner of the election and ought
to have been so declared by the 3rd respondent ( INEC). That the
3rd respondent declared the election inconclusive hence a rerun was
conducted on the 27th day of September 2018.

” That the rerun election was marred by electoral violence,
vote-buying, stuffing of ballot papers, multiple thumb-printing and
voting and allocation of votes by the 3rd respondent. That by the
total actual and valid votes cast on the 22nd and 27th days of
September 2018 respectively, the elections were won by the
applicants.

“That an examination of the electoral documents and election
materials in the custody of the 3rd respondent is required to
determine the actual facts and records of the elections to maintain
this petition.

“That the 3rd respondent wrongfully declared and returned the
1st respondent as being duly elected and winner of the governorship
election, Osun State held on 22nd day of September 2018 and the
rerun election held on 27th day of September 2018 respectively.

The 1st and 2nd applicants are dissatisfied with the said result
of the election as announced by the returning officer of the
governorship election, Osun State. That instant allocation is
required for the purpose of instituting and maintaining the
petition.”

The panel, having listening to the application moved by
Adeleke’s counsel held in their ruling that the allocation had
merit and granted the all,I cation as prayed.

Igoche, who read the ruling said, “We are of the view that the
application has merit.mwe ahead by grant the application as
prayed.”

Addressing the fear raised by the applicant that INEC might not
respect the tribunal’s order except they were armed with a
certified true copy of the order, Igoche said there was nothing
stopping the panel from issuing the order to the applicant on the
same day.

There was heavy presence of armed policemen and operatives of
the Department of State Service on the court presides and outside
the court as security operatives were deployed to prevent
destruction of the proceedings at the tribunal.

Those going into the court premises were frisked by policemen
from the police anti-bomb unit while vehicles were also thoroughly
searched to prevent hoodlums from smuggling weapons into the
place.