PDP’s Attempt To Disrupt Tribunal Proceedings Foiled

ATTEMPTS by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State to disrupt proceedings at the ongoing election petition retrial tribunal in Osogbo, the Osun State capital was foiled, as political thugs suspected to be loyal to the PDP were arrested by police at the tribunal with dangerous weapons in their possession.
Investigations conducted at the tribunal showed that the thugs, who were conveyed in a vehicle with registration number Osun AL 36 LES, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday, claiming that they were returning from the farm where they carried out weed- clearing operation.
The alleged PDP thugs, who investigations revealed were from Iperindo ward 08 in Atakunmosa East Local Government Council Area, were detained at the Monitoring Unit of the Nigeria Police in the state capital where they were presently being interrogated.
It was learnt that the thugs were at the tribunal on Monday in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings with a view to preventing the witness from the council area from testifying at the tribunal before they met their waterloo at the court’s entrance gate.
Findings further revealed that the new trend of events, where AC witnesses were indicting prominent members of the party, was becoming unbearable for the PDP’s hierarchy, which has mapped out a way to scare away the witnesses, as well as the teeming AC supporters, who thronged the tribunal daily.
It was observed that some of the PDP supporters in the court were discussing the issue during a short interval, when the tribunal went into their chamber to consider ruling on an issue raised during the proceedings.
OSUN DEFENDER gathered that having failed in their attempt to scare away witnesses from appearing at the tribunal, they now resorted to a new plan to disrupt the proceedings thereby scaring away intending witnesses from appearing.
Realizing that the plan has been aborted, the PDP resorted into tendering counterfeit documents before the tribunal to pervert the course of justice and vilify the petition of the Action Congress (AC) and its flag bearer, Engineer Rauf Aregbesola.
It was gathered that the party’s state deputy chairman, Mr. Sunday Ojo-Williams, who was detailed to ensure that the petition before the tribunal was frustrated and ensure that events turn out in its favour, quickly rushed to the bench and handed Iziyon the counterfeit document the same way he did on Monday.
Ojo- Williams, who was a lawyer, in conjunction with a Senior Advocate on the side of the PDP, who was fingered in the process that led to the compromised judgment of the first discredited tribunal, was alleged of introducing the new antics which was said to have worked in favour of the PDP in Ogun State.
Oyinlola’s counsel had on Monday morning tendered an adulterated CTC document (witness’ deposition) before the tribunal as an exhibit, claiming that the content was different from what the witness sought to tender.
The application to tender the document was not opposed by Mr. Deji Sasegbon (SAN), believing that there was nothing so different from the two documents.
However, an attempt to tender a counterfeit witness statement on Tuesday by Oyinlola’s counsel as an exhibit met stiff opposition as Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) exposed the irregularities in the document sought to be tendered by Alex Iziyon (SAN), saying it was not the same as the one before the tribunal and the petitioner’s counsel and should explain how he came about it.
Tension rose as the supporters of both parties were shouting at each other trying to support the argument of their counsel, a situation that forced the tribunal to adjourn till the following day.
By SHINA ABUBAKAR
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