Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State has praised a police
report alleging forgery of security reports on the 2007 gubernatorial
election as the reason for the judicial defeat of its candidate and
former governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu at the Court of Appeal.
The party, in a statement made available to Vanguard alongside a
report of the Police on the election, lamented the continued sustenance
of the Labour Party in government despite what it claimed were the
security reports.
The police report allegedly fingered the erstwhile chairman of Labour
Party, LP, Dr. Olaiya Oni, as the provider of the forged security
reports to the LP legal team.
The report endorsed by the PDP Chairman, Ebenezer Alabi, and
Secretary, Oyedele Ibine, follows contentions arising from a petition
filed to the Inspector-General of Police by Dr. Agagu on the purported
forgery of security report allegedly used in ousting him from power by
the Court of Appeal in 2009.
The police report was endorsed by CP Ali Amodu.
PDP quotes police
PDP said: “A letter was written to the Director-General of the State
Security Services, SSS, Abuja, to confirm if the SSS report in Ondo
State during the 2007 gubernatorial elections were forged.
“The Director-General, in his reply, confirmed that the SSS reports
tendered at the tribunal were forged and he clarified the differences
between the agency’s authentic reports and the forged ones that were
tendered.”
A letter was also written to the Registrar, Court of Appeal, Benin,
where the case went on appeal, to furnish the records of proceedings of
the case to enable the Police identify who tendered the documents.
“In vol. X of the records of proceeding obtained from Court of
Appeal, Benin, it was observed that the nine forged security reports
marked as exhibits 1100(1)-(9) were tendered across the bar.
“On the 11 March 2008, when Dr. Olaiya Oni, Chairman of the Labour
Party, Ondo State chapter, gave his evidence in court, he identified the
nine forged security reports as parts or the documents he received.
“Based on the findings from the records of proceedings that Dr. Oni
identified and confirmed he was the person who received the forged SSS
reports, he was invited and he volunteered cautionary statements to the
Police.”
In the statement to the police, quoted by alleged report, Oni
purportedly admitted that he received and passed on the alleged forged
security report to the legal team.
Reports’ recommendation
In its conclusion and recommendation, the police report deposed:
“From investigation conducted, it is clear that the security reports,
which Oni admitted he received and gave to his lawyers to tender at the
Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal, Akure, were forged.
“There is no doubt that Oni conspired with others he has refused to
mention to forge the reports and handed them over to the legal team.
“It is, therefore, recommended that he be arraigned in court for forgery and uttering of forged documents.”
Ondo govt responds
The report and contention of PDP were, however, dismissed by the Ondo
State Commissioner-nominnee for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, who
said Oni should be prosecuted if he claimed to have compromised security
reports.
He discredited Oni, who he said admitted leaving LP because he was not provided with patronage.
Akinmade said LP and the Ondo administration were looking beyond 2007
issues, saying that almost every human being that witnessed the
election acknowledged Mimiko as the winner of that election, which
forced the authorities to shift the declaration of the result to Abuja.
Source: Vanguard.
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