During the proceedings of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday, an alleged jail booking record and incident report from the Florida Metropolitan Police were admitted as evidence against Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, represented by Chris Uche SAN, presented these documents to challenge Governor Abiodun’s victory in the March 18 election. Their claim was based on perceived non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, asserting that Abiodun did not secure a majority of lawful votes during the election.
One of the key witnesses called by the PDP was Oyejide Sunkanmi, the state youth leader of the party. In his witness statement, he referred to the alleged jail booking record and incident report from the Florida Metropolitan police, which had also been previously raised as an accusation against Abiodun before the election.
Furthermore, the Tribunal admitted other pieces of evidence, including a picture showing thugs on motorcycles allegedly carting away ballot boxes and a preloaded top-up card purportedly used for vote-buying during the election.
In addition to these exhibits, Chris Uche also tendered two letters written by the PDP to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the breach of the principle of margin lead.
During the proceedings, Dr. Remi Olatubora (SAN), representing INEC, and Professor Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), representing Governor Abiodun, reserved their objections to the admissibility of these documents until their final written addresses. Olatubora specifically criticized the documents as “cancerous,” claiming that they were not true and not properly pleaded.
