Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Osun, Mutiu Agboke, yesterday, told the election petition tribunal sitting in Osogbo that the state did not have the documents of the 2nd respondent, Ademola Adeleke.

Agboke, who was subpoenaed to present the certificate of Adeleke, was represented by the Deputy Director, Election and Party Management of the commission, Sheu Muhammed, before the tribunal.

He said only the national chairman has the certificate in possession and photocopies were given to the state office for display, adding that “after litigation, we decongest our system and the only documents we keep are election results (form EC8A). We don’t have the photocopies of the results.”

Lead counsel to the plaintiffs, Akin Olujimi, urged the tribunal to compel the REC to go to the headquarters of the commission and produce the documents.

But, the lead counsel to INEC, Paul Ananaba, said the REC that does not have the document cannot be compelled to go to Abuja, insisting the subpoena of the petitioners has expired.

Adeleke’s lead counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, said the subpoena should have been directed at the PDP for the original documents and this was corroborated by the lead counsel to the PDP, Alex Izinyon, who said the petitioners should rather abandon their petition or continue with their witness instead of “looking for sensational headlines.”

Meanwhile, a star witness and accountant, Rasaq Adeosun, told the tribunal during cross-examination that his findings showed that BVAS were not used in 749 polling units during the election.

Asked whether he was a staff of any of the universities attended by Adeleke, the witness said he was not a staff in any of the universities.

The chairman of the tribunal, Tertsea Kume, thereby adjourned to November 25 for a ruling on the arguments. (Daily Sun)

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