Since the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal began its adjudication late August, over complaints arising from the August 9, 2014 governorship poll, it has been one moment of legal fireworks after another as counsel of both the petitioner and the respondents explore technicalities of law to advance their arguments before the 3-member panel, now headed by Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime.The incumbent governor of the state, Mr Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who had been sworn in for a second term in office in November was declared winner of the election, polling 394,684 votes to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator IyiolaOmisore, who secured 292,747 votes.ButOmisore is contesting the results of the exercise in 17 local government councils out of 30, claiming that the election was 'carelessly rigged' in favour of Aregbesola, a development that prompted him to file the petition before the election tribunal.Interestingly, before the constitution of the Ikpejime-led tribunal, two other panels, chaired by Justice I.M.Bako and Justice Suleiman Ambrussa had earlier presided over proceedings at the tribunal beforethe first defendant in the case, Governor Aregbesola, through one of his counsel, Mr Kunle Adegoke, raised the issue of a pending petition against Justice Ambrussa before the National Judicial Commission (NJC), Abuja.Shortly after the tribunal commenced its proceedings, reliefs sought by both counsel of the PDP and APC, Mr Afolabi Fasahanu, SAN and Mr Kunle Adegoke, respectively, seeking the approval of the tribunal to examine sensitive and non-sensitive materials used for the conduct of the election exercise were granted.However, the inspection of the electoral materials, which were in the custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), being the third defendant in the petition assumed a controversial dimension when lawyers of the APC and the PDP engaged in a free for all at the state headquarters of the commission in Osogbo over irreconcilable issues bothering on the inspection mode and video recording of the process.While pundits holds the notion that the ability of both the petitioner and respondents to prove their cases and evidences, coupled with the authenticity of the exhibits before the tribunal would determine where the pendulum of justice would swing, cross-examination of witnesses after the end of pre-trial session raised the temperament in the political circle.Though the proceedings are still ongoing, admirers, supporters and members of the two major political parties locked in the legal battle are sitting on the edge, anticipating what would be the end of the case before the tribunal.In the course of the trial, counsel for Omisore and the PDP had called 43 witnesses, who had earlier deposed on oath regarding their testimonies before the tribunal. They also tendered 388 exhibits ranging from ballot papers, results forms at various levels and voter register, among others, to prove their allegations.Led in evidence by the lead counsel for the petitioner, Mr N.O.O Oke, SAN, and Mr Chris Uche, SAN, the witnesses were cross-examined by the legal teams of the first, second and third respondents, Aregbesola, APC and INEC respectively.Aregbesola, who closed his defence before the tribunal last Wednesday, had through his counsel, Mr Adegoke succeeded in calling only 18 witnesses, despite promising to line up about 600 witnesses. The tribunal had allocated 10 days each to all parties to the petitions for the cross-examination of their witnesses.Succinctlyput, the cross-examination of witnesses so far had been characterised by mild drama and varied submissions about the conduct of the poll, in accordance with the side of the divide that witnesses belonged to. Among the witnesses called by the first respondent were Folorunsho Olojede, Akinropo Adeniji, Rauf Ajide and Mrs Rachael Babatunde, who testified that the election in their respective polling units was free and fair with no incident of multiple voting.Part of the ensuing drama came to the fore when some of the witnesses called by the first respondent were found to be either civil servants, government appointee or sympathisers of the APC. One of the witnesses, Mr Olojede, a retired ASP, was discovered under cross-examination to be an appointee of Aregbesola working with the Osun State Customary Court.While being cross-examined by the counsel for the petitioner, Mr Chris Uche, Okeowo, who came from Unit 2, Ward 4 of Boripe local government said parties' agents were not given duplicate copies of signed election result sheets after the conclusion of the exercise.He, however, affirmed that all eligible voters in his unit were allowed to cast their votes, without being induced with money, food and any other materials, stressing that 'election in my unit was not rigged. Aregbesola told us to fast for his victory and we all did'.Speaking under cross-examination, another witness called by the 1st Respondent, Bello Afeez Adekunle, who claimed to be unemployed, contradicted himself when his status on the 2011 voter register indicated that he was a student, despite graduating from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in 2010.While recalling that he knew agents who represented different political parties during the poll at Apeni Compound, Unit 10 Idi Omo, in Ede community, he said there was no case of harassment or violence at unit on the election day.Though he had wrapped up his case before the tribunal on Wednesday, Aregbesola, accompanied by the running mate of the APC's presidential candidate for the 2015 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, put up a surprising appearance before the court on Friday with a retinue of aides.As the second respondent, APC opened its case before the tribunal last Friday,keen observers of unfolding political events and the people of Osun are waiting with bated breath to see what the final judgment would portend for the polity in the state.
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