News
Tribunal Strikes out PDP, Adebutu’s reply on Vote Buying Allegation Against Dapo Abiodun

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday struck out the vote buying allegation, levelled against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu.
Adebutu had dragged Governor Abiodun and the APC to the tribunal challenging their declaration as the winner of the 18, March 2023 governorship election in the state.
But the governor’s lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), in their defence to the petition, made weighty allegations backed up with police report, establishing that Adebutu and the PDP engaged in vote buying during the elections.
On 22 May, 2023, Adebutu and the PDP filed a reply to the defence by Governor Abiodun and the APC, also levelling vote buying allegation against the ruling party.
The Governor’s lawyers, represented by Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), however, filed an application asking the Tribunal to strike out the Reply in its entirety or in the alternative, to strike out offending paragraphs from that Reply.
Osipitan argued that the Reply filed by Adebutu and PDP contravenes paragraph 16(1) (a & b) of the Electoral Act and the rules of court pleadings.
While ruling on the matter, the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice H.N. Kunaza, agreed with the submissions by Prof. Osipitan
In the ruling, supported by the other two members; Hon. Justice J.B. Egele and Hon. Justice Sannusi Shehu, the Tribunal overruled Adebutu’s lawyers, led by Chief Goddy Uche (SAN), saying that the application filed by the Governor’s lawyers was not the kind of application that the Constitution requires to be determined at the end of proceedings in judgment.
Relying on relevant provisions of the Constitution, the Tribunal held that only applications that challenge the tribunal’s jurisdiction or the competence of a petition will be deferred till judgment whereas the application filed by Governor Abiodun’s lawyers was not that kind of application.
The Tribunal also held that the Reply by Adebutu and PDP was incompetent for multiple reasons.
The Tribunal identified some paragraphs which contained unnecessary and repetitive allegations, others, which contained arguments and legal conclusions (which are not allowed in replies), and some paragraphs which were an improper expansion of the petition earlier filed.
The Tribunal noted that in their petition, Adebutu and PDP alleged that Governor Abiodun and APC committed corrupt practices during the gubernatorial elections. The Tribunal further noted that vote buying is a specie of corruption and that if PDP and Adebutu truly believed that APC engaged in vote buying, the petitioner ought to have included those allegations in their petition from the start, which they did not do.
The Tribunal noted that if the Reply filed by Adebutu and PDP was permitted, there was a risk to prejudice, surprise, or even shut out Governor Abiodun and APC on the issues raised in that Reply.
The Tribunal denounced Adebutu and the PDP for coming up with the vote-buying allegation only after APC and Governor Abiodun had done same against them.
With this backdrop, the Tribunal unanimously concluded that Governor Abiodun and APC would be prejudiced if the Reply filed by Adebutu and PDP is allowed.
The Tribunal held that when Governor Abiodun and APC filed their defence, they joined issues with Adebutu and PDP; that by joining issues, the parties fixed the dispute; and that it was improper to go outside those issues in the Reply.
The Tribunal also found that it was unnecessary to file a Reply in the circumstance, as held in several decisions of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court.
The Reply was accordingly struck out.
With this ruling, only the allegation of vote buying made by Governor Abiodun and APC against Adebutu and the PDP would be entertained by the tribunal.
Jelili Owonikoko (SAN), represented INEC, while the APC team was led by Chief Onyeazu Ikpeazu (SAN).
It would be recalled that Adebutu and PDP leaders in Ogun State have been charged for the offence of vote buying by the Federal Government, a situation that has led to Adebutu being a fugitive to the law.
News
BREAKING: Rhodes-Vivour Aide Attacked as Police, Thugs Disrupt ADC Declaration (Video)

Violence erupted on Saturday in Lagos during the planned declaration of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s former governorship candidate, into the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Suspected thugs, allegedly backed by security operatives, disrupted the event, attacking supporters and injuring Rhodes-Vivour’s personal photographer and aid.
Eyewitnesses report that police, accompanied by armed groups, blocked access to the planned venue for Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour’s ADC declaration, despite prior payment.
Rhodes-Vivour was reportedly informed that the order came “from above,” directing him to seek resolution with the Police Commissioner.
The area was heavily militarized overnight, with soldiers and DSS operatives joining the police to restrict movement.
The actions against Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour’s planned ADC declaration have ignited outrage among his supporters, who perceive the incident as a deliberate attempt to thwart his move.
Sources indicate that Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, was expected to attend the event.
The disruption follows reports of violence against ADC supporters in various locations across the country.
Watch the moment Rhodes Vivour’s aid was beaten as police, thugs frustrate ADC declaration:
News
Insecurity Renders 80 million Nigerian youths jobless- Report
The document, titled “State of the Nigerian Youth Report 2025,” presented in Abuja, yesterday, by the Advocacy and Youth Programme Officer at Plan International Nigeria, Jonathan Abakpa, painted a troubling picture of wasted opportunities in a country where over 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30.

A new report by an independent humanitarian non-profit organisation, Plan International Nigeria, has said that nearly 80 million Nigerian youths are unemployed, while more than 1,500 schools have been shut in the past two years due to insecurity.
The organisation, while raising alarm over the worsening conditions confronting young people in the country, said the development had left about one million children out of school.
The document, titled “State of the Nigerian Youth Report 2025,” presented in Abuja, yesterday, by the Advocacy and Youth Programme Officer at Plan International Nigeria, Jonathan Abakpa, painted a troubling picture of wasted opportunities in a country where over 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30.
The report, produced in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria, with contributions from policy and advocacy experts, was presented at the Nigerian youth dialogue in commemoration of the International Youth Day, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Youth in Parliament.
(The Guardian )
News
Benjamin Hundeyin Takes Over As New Force PRO
The IGP urged Hundeyin to deploy his wealth of experience in communications and security to further strengthen the image of the Nigeria Police Force and sustain robust relations with the public.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has approved the appointment of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Benjamin Hundeyin as the new Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO).
He takes over from DCP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who served as Force PRO until his redeployment.
Hundeyin, a graduate of English Language from Lagos State University, also holds a Master’s degree in Legal Criminology and Security Psychology from the University of Ibadan.
He further obtained a Certificate in Civil-Military Coordination from the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Training Centre, Jaji, Kaduna State.
The new FPRO is an Associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), a Member of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).
A seasoned communicator, Hundeyin previously served as the Police Public Relations Officer at Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and later at the Lagos State Police Command.
He was also part of Nigeria’s contingent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, Sudan, in 2020, and at different times worked at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, as Administration Officer in the Public Relations Department.
The IGP urged Hundeyin to deploy his wealth of experience in communications and security to further strengthen the image of the Nigeria Police Force and sustain robust relations with the public.
-
International3 days ago
BREAKING: Duchess of Kent Passes Away at 92
-
Business2 days ago
FG Enforcing Compulsory “No Tax ID, No Bank Account Policy”
-
Politics3 days ago
INEC Registers 171 New parties seeking to govern Nigeria
-
Business3 days ago
Nigeria to host Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2027
-
Opinions10 hours ago
Electoral Reform, Politics, and Broken Promises: Nigeria’s Democracy at a Crossroads
-
News3 days ago
Insecurity Renders 80 million Nigerian youths jobless- Report
-
Business3 days ago
OPSN Faults Repeated Summons of Private Companies by National Assembly
-
News1 day ago
BREAKING: Rhodes-Vivour Aide Attacked as Police, Thugs Disrupt ADC Declaration (Video)