TRIBUNAL UPDATE (FRIDAY 21-11-2014) Dont insult me, Aregbesolas counsel tells Omisores lawyer Counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) on Friday warned the lead counsel of Senator Iyiola Omisore, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the August 9 election in Osun State, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) against impugning the professional integrity of his team. This was in reaction to the consistent statement of Omisores counsel that Aregbesola, APC and INEC legal teams were deliberately delaying the hearing of the petition filed against the election. Uche, had at the continued hearing of the petition of Omisore and PDP against the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola before the Justice Elizabethe Ikpejime-led tribunal sought to tender the register voters used in all the units and wards of the 17 local governments, including the ones not being challenged in the petition. Subsequently, Aregbesola counsel, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) wondered why the petitioners counsel was tendering all the voters registers, suggesting that the registers for only the units being challenged by the petitioners should be tendered to make the verification of the document by the respondents faster. This suggestion was taken by the tribunal and recommended same to the petitioners counsel. But Uche insisted that he deliberately wanted to tender all the registers to prove his points, even though not all the polling units were being challenged. He said since the respondents would raise their objections at the final addresses, they should just look at the document without verifying the contents. Osinbajo, Falana and the INEC counsel, Mr Ayotunde Ogunleye in reaction, objected to the argument of the petitioners counsel, saying it was wrong to gag them from looking at the document and be stampeded just as they noted that it would take time to look at the documents. Due to the long period that the verification would take, and based on the suggestion of Falana, the tribunal members retired into their chambers and when they returned, the respondents had only been able to verify the register for only six out of the 11 wards in Ayedaade local government . After the documents already verified were admitted, the petitioners counsel rose again to say that the respondents were only verifying the document to deliberately slow down the proceedings. In reaction to the statement, Osinbajo who had early waved the utterances rose and cautioned Uche against making such statement. He said: My Lord, I take serious exception to my learned friend consistently trying to impugn our professional integrity. He has been saying it consistently, but he should be cautioned, because I cannot stay here and allow him to tendered document without looking at it, he fumed. However, after checking the documents, all the respondents counsel stated their observation on the document and they reserved their objections till the final address stage. Among the observations were to the effect that some pages were missing in the register, some have inscriptions with pencils on them without endorsement, while some had certification date of 14/10/2012. When it was clear that the verification of the documents would take much time, the tribunal adjourned till Saturday for further hearing to allow respondent examine the documents before giving their consent.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:00:24 +0000
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