In the ongoing Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, presided over by Justice Arum Ashom, a shocking disclosure emerged from a witness. The witness, Dayo Isreal, an agent representing the Labour Party, testified on Monday that despite their voter cards being considered invalid, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Ibijoke, were allowed to cast their votes.
This revelation holds particular relevance in the petition filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s candidate, as he seeks to challenge the validity of Gov. Sanwo-Olu and his deputy’s election victory on March 18.
During the court proceedings, the witness, accompanied by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Olumide Ayeni, who led the Rhodes-Vivour’s legal team, revealed that he acted as an agent for the Labour Party in the Governorship Election, specifically in Unit 006, Ward 15, Lagos Island Local Government.
Israel spoke before the tribunal, stating that he ‘observed that the card reader showed their cards to be invalid but Sanwo-Olu and his wife were allowed to cast their votes and this is against INEC’s electoral process,’ Israel said before the tribunal.’
While facing cross-examination from Senior Advocate of Nigeria Charles Edosomwan, representing INEC, the witness also alleged that he was physically assaulted on that day by individuals who, according to their speech, identified themselves as supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
‘I am not a member of the Labour Party but I was assigned as an agent. When the APC thugs recognised me as an LP agent, they beat me up. They also said if voters did not vote for APC, they would beat them too,’ he added.
Read also: 5 Candidates Drag Obaseki To Election Tribunal
Upon inquiry from Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Muiz Banire, legal representative for Governor Sanwo Olu and his deputy, the witness was prompted to recount the details of the physical assault and describe the manner in which he was subjected to the beating.
He said, ‘During casting of votes, 4 of them beat me up. I ran away, changed my clothes to disguise myself and came back to monitor the counting of votes.’
In addition, he remarked that there were cases of individuals casting multiple votes, and despite the situation, INEC officials did not intervene.
‘I observed more than 3-4 people voting more than once at the polling unit. INEC staff conducted the elections, though they looked the other way when this was going on.’
During the questioning by APC’s counsel, Abiodun Owonikoko, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the witness revealed that at the polling unit where Governor Sanwo-Olu cast his vote, a total of 126 individuals were accredited. Interestingly, the APC received 121 votes, while the LP was granted 2 votes.
Another witness, Sam Okpala, who was summoned via a subpoena, also appeared before the tribunal. Sam Okpala holds the position of Secretary of the Labour Party in Lagos State. This development took place during the testimony conducted by Folagbade Benson, the petitioner’s legal representative. The subpoena was presented to the tribunal through the witness, resulting in objections from the respondents once again.
In its ruling, the tribunal acknowledged the objections raised by the respondents but opted to proceed with the witness’s testimony. Simultaneously, the tribunal instructed the respondents to incorporate their objections into their final written addresses.
During the cross-examination led by INEC’s counsel, the witness stated that he would not have attended the tribunal if he had not been subpoenaed. He clarified that he had not prepared a written statement.
In the meantime, the tribunal has adjourned the proceedings until July 3, when the hearing on the petition will resume.