When illiterates are allowed to run the govt, how will things get better. Read a Nigerian politician answer the tribunal and laugh with me.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Judges of the Osun State governorship election tribunal, including lawyers, reeled in laughter, on Thursday, as an Action Congress (AC) witness, who was behaving funny in court, informed the tribunal that he did not take beer but took palm wine.





http://odili.net/news/source/2009/aug/7/609.html

The witness, Towogbola Oluwaseyi, who said he was AC supervisor for Ilare Ward IV in Ife Central Local Government Area of the state, turned the court hall to a drama stage with his theatrics, as he informed the court under cross examination that he was not a beer parlour operator but was running a night club.

At a stage, the AC witness warned the counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dayo Famakin-Johnson, not to insult him when he was reminded that the court was not a night club, where he could direct proceedings.

Excerpt of the cross-examination goes thus:

Mr Towogbola, you are a beer parlour operator?

I run a night club patronised by everybody, including the AC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members.

When do night clubs close for business?

Night clubs close for business at 12 midnight.

At what time did you get to your polling unit on election day?

I am not a time keeper, so I don’t know.

Have a look at your own exhibit 19K by one Olajide- can you see that it has no date?

Yes, it is very glaring.

Look at exhibit 19N, another report you tendered, it also has no date?

Of course, I can see it has no date.

Look at the next exhibit, it also contains no date on when it was made.

Yes, it is very glaring that it has no date.

It is only the makers who can tell when they were made?

Yes. That is very glaring.

Look at those reports you just tendered, your own statement is not there

I will not hesitate to tell you that I am not a party agent . So you cannot expect my report to be there.

Mr Towogbola, you sell alcohol?

I don’t sell alcohol but I sell beer. I am known everywhere up to the head office of the Nigerian Breweries (general laughter).

How many bottles of beer have you taken today?

God so good, I don’t drink beer. I only drank soft drinks and palm wine (judges and lawyers reeled in laughter).

Meanwhile, efforts by the counsel for Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Mr. Akin Olujimi, to save the testimony of one of his witnesses, who told the election tribunal that he deposed to his statement in the office of his lawyer, proved abortive.

The witness, Alfa Ibrahim Oladiti, on Thursday, told the tribunal that he was the supervisor for the AC in Moore/Ojaja ward in Ife Central Local Government Area of the state.

During a cross examination by Famakin-Johnson, he informed the court that he signed his statement in the office of his lawyer.

Statements in an election petition are, by law, supposed to be signed at the registry of the election tribunal.

Olujimi later sought to re-examine the witness on that point, asking him to explain again to the tribunal where he signed the statement.

This was countered by counsel for Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Dr. Alex Izinyon and Famakin-Johnson, who asked the tribunal to disallow the question because there was no ambiguity in it.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Ali Garba, consequently, ruled that there was no ambiguity in the answer and that the question was disallowed.

The AC witness also accused 80-year-old Obalufe of Ile Ife, the second in command to the Ooni of Ife, of leading thugs to disrupt the election in his ward.

Another AC witness, Omole Adegbamigbe, a Lagos-based lawyer, who was AC supervisor for Ward 8, Atakumosa West Local Government Area of the state, had, on Wednesday, informed the tribunal that he also deposed to his witness statement before the registrar of the high court of Osun State in Osogbo.

NL is def swimming in shallow waters.

Scrapping the bottom of W.W.W for scraps and non stories just to display Ignorant and tribalistic  leanings and affiliations is indeed a new low.


May the force be with and guard you as you proceed along the banks joblessness, mediocrity and absurdity.



Kpele,

Ndo,

One of the numerous drama that abound in this country.

I dont see how this is anything meaningful i think you should find something to do with your time.

Nigerian journalist are jobless publishing trash and nothing useful

You just add to the large list of small minded Nigerians

You are a waste of being for bothering to even post this up

What type of person are you, you dont say anything sensible about politics, the Economy, Education,   

I feel sorry for your father for having a son like you, who has nothing to do but talk rubbish and post stupid trash on NL. continue living your life when you die only your family will acknowledge the rubbish life you lived. Everyone else wont give two facks about you.

AloyEmeka so what?
I wonder when palm wine has become beer. . .

Aregbesola Arrested Over Forgery - Moved To Abuja - How He Was Smoked Out From Ceiling - Law Should Take Its Course - PDP; Nothing Must Happen To Him - AC
From Chris Agbambu, Kunle Oderemi, Adewale Ajayi, Adelowo Oladipo and Tunde Oyekola - 08.08.2009


Police detectives from Abuja, on Friday, in Lagos, arrested the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in Osun State in the 2007 election, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.


The police have been hunting for him following the alleged forged police report he presented before the appeal court in Ibadan, Oyo State, which led the court to order for the retrial of his petition.


The police had charged him with forgery and conspiracy before a Lagos high court. Informed police sources disclosed to Saturday Tribune that detectives had for the past three days been tracing the politician’s whereabouts.


The sources revealed that all addresses given about him were fake, hence, the detectives had to deploy their own intelligence network which paid off after laying siege on him for three days.


The detectives, numbering about eight, were said to have discovered later that Aregbesola had allegedly been hiding, moving from one house to another.


However, a source revealed the intelligence gathering of the detectives paid off at about 6.00 a.m. on Friday when he was trailed to Number 2, Fatai Street, Egbeda, Lagos.


Sources from the detectives disclosed that on hearing that policemen were looking for him, Aregbesola allegedly climbed into the ceiling of the house before he was eventually arrested.


He was subsequently brought to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, by a Virgin Airline plane by 4.00 p.m. on Friday. The police effected the arrest through a court warrant.


Aregbesola had gone to court to stop his arrest three days ago, but the court threw out his suit on the grounds that the police had constitutional right to arrest, investigate and prosecute.


His arrest marked a dramatic twist to the intrigues trailing the fresh sitting of the state election petition tribunal in Osogbo. In another version of the story, operatives from the Special Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, were said to have carried out the arrest at Aregbesola’s residence in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb, before taking him to the command headquarters.


At the time of his arrest, Aregbesola was said to be clad in a light green caftan, a pair of eyeglasses, with a brown cap and a pair of leather slippers.


Accompanied by one of his lawyers, Mr. Femi Falana, the politician was chauffeur-driven with his wife in a cream colour Toyota Sienna car with registration number CK838KTU into the premises of the SCID in Yaba at about 12:15 p.m.


Saturday Tribune gathered that Aregbesola, with some of his political associates and his lawyer as well as his wife, who was also dressed in a green native attire, holding a brown handbag and a pair of green sandals, was ushered into the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of SCID, Mr. Solomon Arase.


It was learnt that Aregbesola’s arrest was allegedly on the orders of the police high command at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. The politician’s stay at the SCID office was said to have lasted for about 10 minutes, when he was flown to Abuja following an order from the “above.”


Mr. Arase quickly escorted the wife and other members of the team from his office on the first floor to the grounds of the station. At exactly 1.15 p.m., Aregbesola was driven out of the premises to the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, where he was flown to Abuja.


Closely following Mr. Aregbesola’s car out of the SCID office was Arase’s car and a police van marked EA506 EKY, which conveyed the team of policemen that arrested him.


Meanwhile, his Personal Assistant, Oyintiloye Olatunbosun, has narrated how his principal was arrested. He said a team of policemen from Abuja, indeed, carried out the task.


In a statement he made available to Saturday Tribune in Lagos, he said Aregbesola was whisked to the Federal Capital Territory around 12 noon, accompanied by his counsel, Mr. Kunle Adegoke.


He said his arrest followed a warrant of arrest issued by an Abuja magistrate’s court, dated August 5, 2009 and signed by Mr. Kabir Lamido, a senior magistrate.


“Around 11.00 a.m., six policemen stormed Aregbesola’s private residence at Fatai Street, Egbeda, a Lagos suburb, to effect the arrest.
He said the politician was accompanied by his wife, Alhaja Sherifat, and personal aides, including himself (Oyintiloye), Alhaji Lateef Raji, former political and legislative Adviser in Lagos State, and security details.


“The Deputy Commissioner of Police who told him that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonaya Onovo, directed that he should be brought to Abuja immediately for the alleged offences, briefly interrogated Aregbesola at Panti Police Station,” Oyintiloye said the statement.


Falana, in reacting to an attempt by Saturday Tribune to get his views on the arrest of his client, said: “There is no need talking to you over this matter, because you ought to have been conversant with the fact of this case over time. All I can tell you is that the police in Lagos have been asked to fly my client to Abuja by the police authorities at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, and we are all going to follow him there.”

Also reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) declared that the law should take its full course in the matter. National Vice Chairman (South West) of the party, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, while reacting to the arrest, commended the police and said their action was in line with democratic ethos and the rule of law.


“Our reaction to the arrest is that in a democracy, the law should be allowed to take its course. There is a world of difference between politics and crime. The police have alleged a crime and nobody should introduce politics into this matter.


“If because you wanted a political advantage, you veered off from the track of legality to the arena of crime, then you must be prepared to face the music.


“We urge the police not to be intimidated by whatever vicious blackmail, propaganda and campaign of misinformation from elements who would have leprosy and be treating eczema. Again, the law should take its full course,”he said.


Meanwhile, the news of the arrest came to the AC members who were attending the election petition tribunal sitting in Osogbo as a surprise.


The AC members were seen meeting in groups after the tribunal had risen and adjourned till next Tuesday. In a reaction, the AC in Osun State called on Mr. Onovo to ensure the safety of Aregbesola while in police custody.


A statement signed by Mr. Gbenga Fayemiwo, Director of Media to Aregbesola’s Campaign Organisation, said: “While we agree that the police can exercise their power of arrest under the law, we call on the Inspector-General of Police to respect the order of Justice Ajakaye of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and ensure that Aregbesola is not harmed in any way.


“We urge the IGP to ensure that Aregbesola is not put in a poisoned cell as we have gathered from sources close to our opposing camps that he was to be eliminated by poisoning once he is in custody.


“Since he declared his interest in the governorship of Osun State, several attempts have been made on Aregbesola’s life. “We urge the IGP to ensure that professionalism is not jettisoned in how the governorship candidate of the AC in Osun State is treated in custody.


“Aregbesola is not a coward and cannot escape from custody. So, he should not be given the Boko Haram treatment under any guise. He had committed no offence to warrant his ordeal and should not be harmed in custody.


“The police report which the Osun State governor, Oyinlola, has been boastfully touting and instigating the police to arrest for is subjudice and presently being addressed by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Whatever denial made by the immediate past IGP, Mike Okiro, should not and must not be allowed to override the jurisdiction of the court and law.


“Witnesses currently giving evidence before the governorship election petition retrial tribunal have been subjected to terror, intimidation and harassment.


“One of them, Jonathan Adewumi, a lawyer was unjustifiably arrested in Osogbo as soon as he left the court premises on the basis of the evidence he gave on Aregbesola’s petition at the tribunal.


“Now that the petitioner has been taken into custody with a clear intention to interrupt his ability to prove his petition before the court of law, the whole world community is urged to take active interest in what is going on in Osun State under Governor Oyinlola.


Also, the Osun State chairman of the AC, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, reacted to the arrest, saying “it is simply despicable.” He said the arrest followed a pattern of opposition clampdown in the state owing to the “aggressive” pursuit of the governorship case against Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the PDP candidate.

In a reaction, the AC condemned the arrest, describing it as a “gross abuse” of privilege by power brokers. It said it was shocked and dismayed at the arrest over the “genuineness or otherwise of a police report,” which he tendered before the election petition tribunal.


In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the AC raised fears over the safety of its candidate while in the custody of the police which, it said, “have shown crass partisanship” in handling the issue.


Demanding his immediate release, the party said the action of the police amounted to pre-empting the election tribunal, as the tribunal had yet to pronounce on the genuineness or otherwise of the document in question.


The AC also reminded the police of Tuesday’s ruling of a federal high court in Lagos, which warned the Inspector-General of Police against impeding Aregbesola in the prosecution of his petition before the tribunal.


“It is sad that the new Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, has chosen to start off on a shaky note by defying the court and acting in the interest of the PDP. This has further confirmed our belief that the Nigeria Police Force has become an enforcement arm of the PDP, but what is the ruling party afraid of in this case?”' the party queried.


It alleged that the reason for arresting Aregbesola at this time was to rattle him and put him away so he could not successfully prosecute his case at the tribunal.


“Arresting him on the strength of a document tendered before the tribunal is also aimed at prejudicing the tribunal. Otherwise, when did the police assume the powers to pronounce over the authenticity of a document submitted to the court?” the party added.


It said even if the document were fake, it was up to the tribunal to make that decision, not the police which “in any case took all of two years to decide that the police report is fake.”


The party explained that its concern over Aregbesola’s safety in police custody stemmed from the continued harassment of the candidate as well as his aides, some of whom, it claimed, had even been killed, since he started prosecuting his case at the tribunal.


“Nothing must happen to Alhaji Aregbesola” the AC warned the police. It said “instead of non-stop persecution by the partisan police,” Aregbesola deserved commendation for doggedly fighting to retrieve his “stolen mandate” within the ambit of the law, instead of resorting to violence.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/08082009/news/news1.html


this is the link, I posted this here when its not coming up as a new thread

How many bottles of beer have you taken today?

God so good, I don’t drink beer. I only drank soft drinks and palm wine (judges and lawyers reeled in laughter).

why are they laughing? Is there anything stupid about that answer?

onye_ngbu:

why are they laughing? Is there anything stupid about that answer?

Maybe they think pammy is local colomental

Tudór:

AloyEmeka so what?
I wonder when palm wine has become beer. . .

Mr Towogbola, you sell alcohol?

I don’t sell alcohol but I sell beer. I am known everywhere up to the head office of the Nigerian Breweries (general laughter).

Tudor, I wonder if the beer made by NB is alcoholic.

Aloy_Emeka:

Tudor, I wonder if the beer made by NB is alcoholic.

U might never know, this man is probably being logical and very careful with his answers to the letter.

remember, the questions is: do you sell alcohol? and he said no, BUT he sells beer. implying that he knows what they are driving at.

he can claim that he sells alcoholic drinks and not alcohol itself.

Or are you telling me that you dont know that alcohol is a chemical compound of its own?

That man might be one of the smartest witness those lawyers have come by in their career and they dont even have any clue.

well his answer are very clever.

thumb up

What has a bartender got to do with election, This is why everything goes wrong with our special type of demo-crazie.People of all sorts are picked up on d street to participate in election processes,thereby compromising themselves.I hope Obama did nt watch that court comedy or is it part of our electoral reform strategy,~.

What has a bartender got to do with election, This is why everything goes wrong with our special type of demo-crazie.People of all sorts are picked up on d street to participate in election processes,thereby compromising themselves.I hope Obama did nt watch that court comedy or is it part of our electoral reform strategy,~.

.
very wrong. Each job has it is own diginity and they are valuable member of the society.

They have right to participate in election and political process.