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Lagos Governorship Election: Gov Sanwo-Olu, Wife Voted With Invalid Voters Cards, Witness Tells Tribunal
There are allegations that Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Ibijoke were allowed to cast their votes, despite their voter cards being invalid.
The testimony was given by an agent of the Labour Party, Dayo Isreal who was subpoenaed to testify in the petition filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s candidate, in the March 18 election, seeking to nullify the return of Gov. SanwoOlu and his deputy.
A witness on Monday told the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal headed by Justice Arum Ashom.
While being led in evidence by the Rhodes-Vivour’s lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olumide Ayeni, the witness told the court that he served as an agent for the Labour Party for Unit 006, Ward 15, Lagos Island Local Government in the Governorship Election.
” I 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
Under cross-examination from counsel to INEC, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Charles Edosomwan, the witness also claimed he was beaten up that day by some All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters and that he knew they were APC supporters from the way they spoke.
“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 said
When asked by counsel to Governor Sanwo Olu Olu & his deputy, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Muiz Banire, to describe how he was beaten.
He added, “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.
He also noted that there were cases of multiple casting of votes but INEC officials failed to 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.”
While answering questions from counsel to APC, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abiodun Owonikoko, the witness disclosed that a total number of 126 people were accredited at the polling unit where Governor Sanwo -Olu voted while APC had 121 votes, LP was given 2votes.
Additionally another subpoenaed witness, the secretary of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Sam Okpala, also testified before the tribunal
Led by counsel to the petitioner, Folagbade Benson, the subpoena was tendered to the tribunal through the witness, a situation which led to another round of objections from the respondents.
The tribunal in its ruling noted the objections of the respondents but proceeded to hear the testimony of the witness while ordering the respondents to include their objections in their final written addresses.
The witness, while being cross-examined by INEC’s counsel, said he would not have appeared before the tribunal if he was not subpoenaed, adding that he never wrote a statement.
The tribunal has adjourned till July 3 for the continuation of the hearing in the petition.
News
HAPPENING NOW: Blackout hits Abuja, Embassies affected
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced power outage in various parts of Abuja including hotels and diplomatic buildings.
The AEDC made the announcement in its verified X handle today.
It said the blackout also affected Bolingo Hotel, Wada Maida Building, which houses the headquarters of Sudan, Egypt embassies, Envoy Hotel, the European Union embassy, among others.
The other places affected by the blackout are the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Hospital, and the Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian embassies.
“Also, Garki Area One, Two, Three, Seven and Eight; Garki village; Garki market; Ubiaja Street; Kaltungo Street; and Lagos Street have been affected.
“Also affected are Oka Akoko Street, Treasury House, Karibu Hotel, and part of Asokoro, such as Yakubu Gowon Street.
“Similarly, Imo Government Lodges, Gado Nasko Street, Justice Sowemimo, Hassan Musa Katsina Streets, part of Jasse Martin, NIA, and TY Danjuma Street are without power supply.
“It said also affected are Lugbe, Jedo, Forte Royal, Back Of Dunamics, Customs Quarters, Aviation Village Piwoye Kapwa Ok Water, Nicomsat, Korean School and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,”.
It attributed the power outage to a technical fault.
“The technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is currently working to restore the power supply.
“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding,” AEDC said.
News
Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group
The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.
The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.
Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.
The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.
The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.
Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.
News
FG launches GovGuideNigeria to boost citizens governance access
GovGuideNigeria platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijan, has said that Nigerians can now access the government information and services through the newly launched GovGuideNigeria.
The artificial intelligence-powered platform was launched on May 21 by the government in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and local developer partner Publica AI.
According to the Minister, the platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.
Tijani stated that the platform provides users with easy access to information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies.
He described the initiative as part of the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery through technology and digital innovation.
Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Meta, said during the launch “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice.
Ignatius Willie, CEO, Publica AI said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.
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