Hashim Abioye.
May I inform my brother, Ismail Omipidan that no matter his experience as a journalist who has covered judicial proceedings for decades as he always claims, his opinions as far as legal processes especially judicial proceedings are concerned remain that of a layman.
Whatever it is, lest he is not misled, he should know that the Osun Governorship Tribunal Chairman clearly rejected in evidence the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Adeleke. V. Raheem which cleared Governor Adeleke of forgery in respect of the same document that the Tribunal Chairman held to be forged.
Hon. Justice T.A. Kume in his judgment held that the point canvassed by the Petitioners counsel was whether the CTC of the judgment tendered in evidence was admissible, and that he agreed with the petitioners’ counsel that the document was not admissible. He clearly stated in his judgment that the document (i.e. the judgement) is rejected in evidence.
He stated that the issue to be determined was not whether there was a judgment already on the issue by the Court of Appeal but whether the document in the manner in which it was certified was admissible.
Therefore it took Hon. Justice Kume the boldness to demolish the judgment of a Court superior to the Tribunal to reverse an issue already determined to finality by the Court of Appeal.
Not only that, the Tribunal was referred to that decision as reported in Adeleke. V. Raheem (2019) LPELR (CA) 48729 but his lordship ignored same. My brother should go and read that decision and come back to present the “facts and figures” as he always does.
Another judgment of the Court of Appeal on similar issue which settled the issue of Adeleke’s qualification and issue of forgery was also cited, a judgment in rem, which binds the whole world, whether or not the person is a party to the case, and operates as an estoppel and a complete bar against re-opening.
Justice Kume did justice to the decisions of the Court of Appeal in this regard, by not stopping at rejecting it in evidence but also failed to follow by not taking judicial notice of same and be bound by it as mandated by the Evidence Act, and proceeded to pronounce that Adeleke submitted a forged document to INEC. What a challenge to the principle of stare decisis!!!!
The fact is that without Justice Kume jettisoning the judgment of the Court of Appeal, his lordship would not have come to a finding of forgery against Governor Adeleke when it was in respect of the same document which the higher Court had earlier held that it wasn’t a forgery. His lordship T. A. Kume no doubt sat on an appeal against previous decisions of his senior brothers and set same aside.
That finding of Justice Kume has a date with the Court of Appeal. Another mis-information in Mr. Omipidan’s piece is the false narration that the BVAS machines were never opened in court.
I impore him to go to the judgment of Justice Kume over and over again, I would have asked him to read that of Justice Ogbuli too, but he would not want to hear that name, so, he should read that of Justice Kume where it was stated that exhibits RBVM series (the BVAS machines) were tendered in Court and by the “records of the Tribunal, they were taken as demonstrated”.
If a document was taken as demonstrated in Court, it is taken that the content has been shown to the Court. Now, if the BVAS machines were taken as demonstrated, why shaving the head of the BVAS machine behind it’s back by relying on a report from the back end server.
At any rate, the battle has shifted to the Court of Appeal and lest my brother be told that as against their rife rumours and propaganda, INEC too has appealed the judgment. Hashim Abioye Esq.
