Hottestgistnaija.com
DEMAND FOR DISCREET INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION
1.0 INTRODUCTION:
1.1 My name is Jimi Adebisi Lawal and I am one of the six (6) gubernatorial aspirants certified fit by the All Progressive Congress (APC) to contest the gubernatorial primaries that was scheduled to hold in all the 236 Local Government Wards in Ogun State on 3rd October, 2018.
1.2 On Friday 5th October 2018, I submitted a letter of protest dated 3rd October, 2018 against the return of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the Candidate of APC to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of our great party and I expect the National Working Committee to empanel an Appeal Committee to consider the submissions and nullify the false results, same having been fabricated by some of the Committee members to favour the candidate returned.
2.0. MATRIX OF FACTS:
2.1 The National Working Committee of APC set up an Eight (8) man committee led by Muhammad Indabawa as Chairman and Senator Gbenga Aluko as Secretary to conduct the above primary election. The operational rules and/or guidelines of the primary election in all the 236 Local Government Wards in Ogun State, were tabled by the committee for discussions with the aspirants in a couple of meetings between October 1st and 2nd. Stakeholders agreed to adhere to the direct primary and secret ballots system of voting prescribed by the National Working Committee. It was also agreed that the agents and/or representatives of the aspirants would be given full and unhindered rights to monitor the distribution of election materials and conduct the actual elections in all the Wards. Logistics plans were also agreed at the meeting because of the vastness of the size of the state. The meeting of 2nd October, 2018 came to an end with the resolution that each aspirant would submit a list of Ward electoral officer, Agents, Local Government and State Returning Officers (the said list to contain names, Wards, LGAs and phone number of nominees) not later than 8:00am the following morning to ensure that the primary election is conducted on 3rd October, 2018 unfailingly. A member of the Committee – Ms Esheza Oshogwe subsequently forwarded an allocation list of five returning officers for each Local Government (from the list submitted by the aspirants) as per attached, marked Annex I.
2.3. In order to assist with logistics, it was also resolved that the Committee would not use vehicles or any other resources from the State Government as a result of which an appeal was made by Sen. Aluko for any of the aspirants who could make a vehicle or two available. I volunteered to make as many vans as were needed available and also assisted in mapping out the routes that would ensure effective and timely delivery of the materials to the 20 Local Government offices of INEC. The vehicles were required to be delivered to the Committee by 8:00pm that evening so the delivery could commence as early as 6:00am the next day, upon arrival of police and other necessary security escorts.
2.4 As agreed, five vans were delivered that evening only for me to learn from one of the drivers at about 10:00am the following day that none of them had left Abeokuta. I promptly called Sen. Gbenga Aluko to enquire about the reason for the delay as we had been mobilizing the voters who had started arriving since 7:00am that morning. Sen. Aluko expressed frustration on account of Governor Amosun having directed the State Commissioner of Police not to make requisite police officers available for the exercise. He however assured me that the Committee Chairman was working with the National Chairman and the Inspector General to secure police officers from another State.
2.5 I called Sen. Aluko again at about 1:00pm, only to be informed that alternative arrangements had been made and that the vans could not be used because they were marked and that thugs might follow them. I immediately pointed out that the materials should not have been dispatched without armed police escort, just as they should have been accompanied by some of the aspirants’ representatives as agreed the previous night. He assured me that it was an oversight and that our returning officers and agents should go to INEC’s offices in the various Local Government Areas to receive the materials and ensure that the elections were held as required. We acted promptly by ensuring that all our Local Government returning officers were present in their respective INEC offices by about 1:30pm.
2.6 Given that Abeokuta North and South were only a few minutes away from the location of the materials, I called Senator Gbenga Aluko again at 2:00pm when none of the INEC offices throughout the State had received any of the materials. He again assured me that some of the materials had been delivered and I asked him to be specific; to which he mentioned Abeokuta North and Ado-Odo/Ota amongst others. I again double-checked with our Returning Officers in those locations and called Sen. Aluko back to make it clear that the materials had not been received. I called him yet again at 3:00pm, but he did not respond to my calls; at which point it became clear to me that after 2:00 hours of departure, which was more than sufficient time for 75-80% of the Local Government Area headquarters to have been reached from Abeokuta, that the materials must have been diverted since none had been received.
2.7 Since Sen. Aluko was no longer answering my calls, I sent him a message at 3:03pm as follows “My Brother Distinguished, I must put it on record after our telephone conversation a short while ago that I did not receive any message from you since yesterday and none of our local government returning officers had seen any of the materials in all the INEC’s offices so far! Please investigate and revert ASAP. With best wishes always. JAL” to which he responded “Noted. Will do” at 5:11pm. I then personally visited Ijebu-Ode INEC office being my Local Government and was categorically informed that no such materials had been received.
2.8 It is worth mentioning that a critical requirement for the primary election is not only for the materials to arrive safely in the Local Government Areas ahead of distribution to the Wards but for the process to also be monitored by INEC with a view to ensuring it is free, fair and credible. It is submitted that this requirement is indispensable for the outcome of any election of this nature to be upheld as credible. I therefore addressed a letter, on the spot to the Executive Officer in INEC’s office; who responded by confirming that the materials were not received and that no election was monitored by INEC in any and all of the 11 Wards in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area. Copies of my letter and his response are attached to the enclosed Petition and marked Annex 2A & 2B respectively.
2.9 I then directed that our Returning Officers who were still waiting in their respective INEC offices to do the same. A couple of the responses from Ado-Odo/Ota and Ogun Waterside are attached to the enclosed Petition and marked Annex 3A and 3B and respectively.
2.10 Apart from not directly witnessing any primary election in my Local Government, all my agents and returning officers also confirmed to me that elections did not hold in their Wards and Local Government. Alas, the members of the committee colluded with Prince ‘Dapo Abiodun by diverting the electoral materials to unknown locations and forging results of elections that never. Furthermore, it came as a rude shock that in the circumstance, the Committee’s Chairman announced the so-called results of the non-existent direct primary election. More so that none of the Committee Members left Abeokuta to visit any of the Local Government Areas and none of the Returning Officers for all the 20 Local Government Areas attested to any collated results whatsoever. The electoral officers at the ward level also did not participate in any declaration of results. To this effect, all our 20 Local Government Returning Officers me to be false Or which is at variance with the signed certificate of return commits an offence and is liable on conviction to 36 months imprisonment.
Without doubt, the members of electoral committee knew that the results declared were false and must be prosecuted for subverting the will of the people by declaring bogus results for an election that did not hold.
3.0. ELECTORAL OFFENCES:
3.1 IGP Sir, I wish to submit with respect that the above acts of subversion of the will of the people implicate electoral offences under the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended). From the forgoing matrix of facts, I wish to submit that the results declared by the Electoral Committee was false to all intents and purposes. Section 123 (4) of the Electoral Act clearly criminilises this act as follows:
123(4) Any person who announces or publishes an election result knowing same to be false Or which is at variance with the signed certificate of return commits an offence and is liable on conviction to 36 months imprisonment.
Without doubt, the members of electoral committee knew that the results declared were false and must be prosecuted for subverting our electoral democracy by declaring a result of an election that did not hold.
3.2 In the same vein, I also wish to submit that the beneficiary of the crime – Prince Dapo Abiodun and other conspirators should be investigated for conspiracies with the electoral committee members and prosecuted accordingly. Section 124 (5) and (6) empower the court to impose the same quantum of punishment on co-conspirators as follows:
124(5) Any person who conspires, aids or abets any other person to commit any of the offences under this part of this Act shall be guilty of the same offence and punishment thereto.
(6) For the purposes of this Act, a candidate shall be deemed to have committed an offence if it was committed with his knowledge and consent or the knowledge and consent of a person who is acting under the general or special authority of the candidate with reference to the election.
3.3 Finally, by departing fully from the agreed operational guidelines and logistics plans put in place by the aspirants at meetings held for that purpose, diverting electoral materials to destinations unknown to stakeholders, I submit that the electoral committee members, Prince Dapo Abiodun and their co-conspirators committed a crime under Section 128 of the Electoral Act which provides as follows:
‘’Any person who at an election acts or incites others to act in a disorderly manner commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine ofN500,000. oo
3.4 Finally, by departing fully from the agreed operational guidelines and logistics plans put in place by the aspirants at meetings held for that purpose, diverting electoral materials to destinations unknown to stakeholders, I submit that some of the electoral committee members, Prince Dapo Abiodun and their co-conspirators committed a crime under Section 128 of the Electoral Act which provides as follows:
‘’Any person who at an election acts or incites others to act in a disorderly manner commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine ofN500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.’’
4.0 CONCLUSION:
4.1 Although we have an iron cast civil case for the nullification of the election, I wish to urge the Inspector General of Police to work with the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to direct a discreet investigation and prosecution of the electoral offences committed as explained above. Your decision to act in this regard will send the right signal that we are indeed ready to accommodate more descent people in politics and democratic governance. It is submitted that the diligent prosecution of cases of this nature would vividly demonstrate that President Buhari’s Administration is serious in combating corruption and instituting good governance as an integral part of the Change Agenda. Also attached, please see below a video from one of the Committee members who was dismissed under controversial circumstances.
4.2 Please accept the assurances of my highest regards and best wishes always always.
