Ignore  Aregbesola, Oyinlola’s Lawyers tell Tribunal

The Legal team of Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunosye Oyinlola filed a counter motion at the State Election petition tribunal on Friday asking the tribunal to dismiss prayers of the AC governorship candidate, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola which asked the tribunal to disqualify itself from delivering judgement in the case on Tuesday.

 In asking the tribunal to ignore the call for it to be disbanded, the PDP team discribed the AC applicants as cheap blackmailers employing an “Interloper” to publish a Magazine in order to establish a basis for allegation of bias against the tribunal.

 In a written address signed by Mallam Yusuf Alli, SAN, Kunle Kalejaye, SAN and Nathaniel Oke,SAN the legal team described as “frivolous, petty, ill- conceived, badly executed blackmail ,tendentious and time wasting” the application filed on Thursday by Aregbesola seeking to arrest the coming Tuesday judgement.

  The filing of the counter motion came on the heel of the arrest of 24 suspected thugs brought to the state from Lagos on Tuesday who were caught trying to disrupt activities at the state High Court.

 The Senior Advocates in the written address which was supported with a 23 paragraph affidavit deposed to by a legal practitioner,, Ekerenam Ekpo declared that the antecedents of the applicants clearly marked them out as blackmailers.

 “The scenario that has played out in this case is that the petitioners having successfully failed to get the panel disbanded and another one constituted to hear this petition, have resorted in connivance with the News to make the publication in exhibit KA1, as a last resort to frustrate judgment that has been fixed for delivery. To accede to the prayers would be to succumb to their blackmail and make them achieve their sinister goals and objectives.

 “It is also further submitted that a grant of the application will engender further delay contrary to the tenets and principles of the Electoral Act and the law relating to Election petition.

 “We pray your Lordships to dismiss this application as we have shown and from the antecedents of the applicants, it is another in the series of frivolous, tendentious and time wasting applications for which they are known.

  “We pray your Lordships not to succumb to this petty, ill-     conceived and badly executed blackmail by the applicants. It is obvious and apparent that the authors and writers of exhibit KA1(TheNEWS magazine) are not parties in this proceedings, and it is not our law that any surmised allegation of bias by a meddlesome interloper, like the authors of exhibit KA1 would be the basis for disqualification of the bench.

 “With respect, this is an application in which your lordships should be bold and courageous as before to assert the authority of the bench and not to pander to the orchestrated and co-ordinated media-trial sponsored by the petitioners.

 “May the day never come, when the sacred, serious and divine duty of adjudication will be surrendered to persons or groups that do not know the chaff from the wheat” the Oyinlola team declared while praying the tribunal “to give this unmeritorious application the disgraceful burial it deserves,” the lawyers submitted.

 Lasisi Olagunju

Special Adviser (Media) and

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

14th July, 2008.