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Sanwo-Olu to counter GRV’s 20,000 exhibits at election tribunal
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, must now counter more than 20,000 documents, serving as evidence Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, has presented before the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, to prove that he actually won the March 18 polls.
GRV, came to the court on Tuesday with 13 boxes loaded with the documents, which was presented to the tribunal by his lawyer, Olumide Ayeni, alongside his schedule of exhibits, with the tribunal subsequently directing him to allow all the respondents access to the documents them.
The respondents, which include the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have between Tuesday and Wednesday to examine the documents, after which the LP candidate is expected to call his first witness in proof of his petition.
The documents are expected to be tendered through the witnesses when they start to testify, Channels Television, reports, adding that the 13 boxes contained INEC forms EC9, EC8A & B, Form EC40A, Form EC40G, BIVAS Reports, and more in over 13,000 polling units, result sheets from different polling units, and other relevant documents.
Before the adjournment of proceedings, Ayeni, had sought to move an application to allow the petitioner to tender, use and rely on certain documents including a report of inspection, sworn witnesses of certain persons listed on its application as well as other electoral documents used or purportedly used in the election which is the subject matter of the petition.
In his response, Charles Edosomwan (SAN), who represented INEC, the first respondent in the suit, described the application as “a ground-moving motion.”
He asked for time to consult his client so as to determine whether or not to oppose the application, while Muiz Banire (SAN), lawyer to Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, the second and third respondents to the petition, told the tribunal that the application was not ripe for hearing.
While he argued that by the provisions of paragraph 47(4) of the first schedule, his clients were still within time to respond to the application, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) who represented the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposed the application, stressed that he had his client’s instructions not to allow the petitioner to reopen its case after the close of pre-hearing. He also indicated that he would take time to respond appropriately to the application.
After the submissions, the petitioner’s counsel asked the tribunal to grant a stand down so it could present its documents in line with the tribunal’s pre-trial report that same be done on or before the end of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran (popularly known as Jandor), the tribunal on Monday, June 12 listened to arguments for and against the application filed by the APC seeking to dismiss the petition
The three-member tribunal led by Justice Arum Ashom also adjourned the ruling on the application till the final judgment. Hearing in the petition of the PDP and Jandor was then fixed for June 19th.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
Qowiy Oloyede, a resident of Oriya Sokoto road, Atan Ota, is currently telling operatives of the Ogun State Colice command, the reasons that pushed him into making a video suggesting that a part of the state was under attack of terrorists, knowing same to be fake.
Oloyede, reports say, dragged to the police on May 23 by one Ayinla Sodiq, who accused him of creating and sharing a misleading TikTok video falsely claiming that bandits had invaded the Atan Ota community..
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, which broke the news, said on immediately being questioning by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oloyed, allegedly confessed to fabricating the video to gain followers on social media.
Apart from admitting that that he created the fake bandit attack content to gain followers and trend online, said in a video currently on social media the herder featured in the clip was a cattle rearer who usually grazed cows behind his shop and had initially refused to participate before eventually agreeing.
Oloyede, who also claimed he could neither read nor write, adding that his apprentice wrote the caption accompanying the video posted online, maintained that he had only produced and posted two similar videos, one on Monday and another on Wednesday.
The command, said to have recovered photographs and video evidence linked to the fake publication during preliminary investigation, added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Abeokuta, for further investigation, warning residents against spreading false information capable of causing panic and public disorder, and for the public to verify information before sharing content on social media.
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