Osun Tribunal: Aregbesola's Lawyers Vet Omisore’s Documents

The legal team of Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Tuesday, continued vetting, sorting and verification of Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents which Senator Iyiola Omisore was seeking to tender before the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led Election Petition Tribunal.

Tuesday’s sitting became the second out of fourteen days allowed in the pre-trial session report for the Senator Omisore to maintain his petition before the Tribunal.

As early as 9 am when lawyers from both sides arrived the Osogbo High Court venue of the Tribunal to begin the exercises in earnest with a view to going through all the 17 Local Governments challenged by Omisore in his petition.

The Tribunal had allowed the exercise to go ahead based on the consent of all the parties when they conveyed their decision to members of the panel on Monday.

Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, was later joined by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, and later Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN led Chief Titus Ashaolu, SAN and Nathaniel Oke, SAN for Omisore.

Two leading silks, Chiefs Akin Olujinmi and Oluwarotimi Akeredolu later arrived to join the legal team of Governor Aregbesola.

The silks were assisted by a battery of lawyers from both sides as each of the certified true copies of the result for individual polling unit was brought out by Omisore’s legal team and verified by those of Governor Aregbesola.

The exercise which was typified by lighter moments and exchange of banters between petitioners and respondents lawyers moved rapidly to Ola-Oluwa Local Government at the time of filling this report.

The Tribunal was expected to sit later on Tuesday afternoon to hear the report of the exercise after which the documents already consented to by the respondents could be tendered by the petitioners from the bar.

Security arrangement was tighter at the sitting yesterday as only lawyers and journalists were allowed to come to the Tribunal while politicians were kept at bay.

It was learnt that the instruction to maintain tighter security arrangement arose from a directive issued by the Tribunal through the registrars.

Anti-bomb and metal detectors were deployed at the Tribunal venue yesterday by a special police unit with which cars were screened while lawyers were made to go through metal detector screening.