- Culprits linked with Mimiko, Labour Party
- Ondo PDP seeks justice
Investigations by the police and the State Security Service, SSS, into the security reports presented to the 2007 Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on which the Justice Garba Nabaruma-led tribunal relied upon to nullify the election of former governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, have been confirmed forged.
The forged report paved the way for the declaration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party, LP, as the winner of the 2007 governorship election on July 25, 2008. The tribunal relied on the reports to nullify the result of election in 10 local government areas where the then incumbent Governor Agagu had won.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, Edo State, on February 23, 2009 upheld the ruling of the tribu-nal on the strength of the forged reports. Agagu had won the April 14, 2007 governorship election. In the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Agagu secured 349,258 votes to defeat Mimiko who polled 226,021.
But after the cancellation of the election results in 10 out of the 18 local government areas of the state by the tribunal, Mimiko emerged as the governor with 198,269 votes against the earlier winner, Agagu, who the Nabaruma-led tribunal credited with 128, 669 votes Agagu had petitioned the Presidency alleging that the LP forged SSS reports in Ondo State during the 2007 election and which were presented at the election petition tribunal.
He added that despite the testimony by SSS officials that security reports were forged, the tribunal relied on the reports to nullify the result of election in 10 local governments where Agagu, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate had won. Agagu had appealed to the President to investigate the matter to safeguard "our democracy which is the beacon of our sustainable development."
Acting on the petition, the President sent the letter to the Inspector-General of Police for investigation who consequently directed the Special Investigations Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja, to handle.
In the documents made available to National Mirror, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Special Investigations Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Ali Amodu, in his report titled "Police Investigation Report on a Case of Forgery and Uttering of State Security Services Report," to the Inspector-General of Police confirmed the forgery.
"A letter was written to the SSS Director-General to confirm if the reports were forged. "The director-general confirmed that the reports tendered at the tribunal were forged and he clarified the differences between the agency authentic reports and the forged ones that were tendered," Amodu admitted in the report.
He added: "A letter was also written to the Registrar, Court of Appeal, Benin; where the case went on appeal, to furnish the records of proceeding of the case to enable the police identify who tendered the documents.
"In Vol. X of the records of proceeding obtained from Court of Appeal, Benin, it was observed that the nine forged security reports marked as exhibits 1100(I)-99) were tendered across the bar by Wole Olanipekun (SAN) on January 17, 2008, and on March 11, 2008 when Oni, the Chairman of the Labour Party, Ondo State chapter, gave his evidence in court, he identified the nine forged security reports as parts or the documents he received.
"Based on the findings from the records of proceedings that Dr. Olaiya Oni, the Chairman of the Labour Party, in Ondo State identified and confirmed he was the person who received the forged SSS reports, he was invited and he volunteered cautionary statements to the Police."
In its Summary of Findings, the Police said: "From the interim investigations conducted, the following findings emerged: that nine SSS reports during the Ondo State gubernatorial election in 2007 were tendered at the Election Petition Tribunal, Akure; that the SSS has confirmed that the security reports tendered at the tribunal were forged and did not emanate from the service; that Olaiya Oni, the Chairman of Labour Party in Ondo State during his testimony at the tribunal identified the security reports and he admitted they were parts of the documents which he received; that Olaiya Oni, apart from his testimony also admitted in his statement that he received the security reports and handed them over to the legal team for analysis and legal use."
Amodu, therefore, recommended that Dr. Olaiya Oni, former state chairman of LP, be arraigned in court for forgery and uttering forged documents.
The police report concluded that "from the investigation so far conducted, it is crystal clear that security reports which Dr. Olaiya Oni admitted he received and gave to his lawyers to tender at the Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal, Akure were forged.
"There is no doubt that Dr. Oni conspired with others he has refused to mention to forge the reports and handed them over to the legal team.
"It is, therefore, recommended that he be arraigned in court for forgery and uttering of forged documents." The SSS report titled "Re: Petition Against Forgery of State Security Services (SSS) Report" was not so much different from the police report.
The Department of State Security in Abuja said that on June 10, 2010 following a petition received by it, sent an investigation team to the Ondo State Command to investigate the alleged forgery.
The DSS said that the investigative team visited the eight local government areas where the reports were alleged to have originated from, adding that records examination was held at both the state command headquarters and the concerned local governments. It said that 17 persons were interviewed, among whom were the petitioner, two LP lawyers and some service personnel.
The report, in its Summary of Statements, averred that "in the course of this investigation, a total of 27 people were interviewed after which they volunteered statements." Those interviewed included Wole Olanipekun (SAN), lead counsel to the LP, Yasir Oladele and Remi Olatubora, LP lawyers and some service personnel.
The DSS report further said: "From the totality of investigations, it is found as follows: "That of the nine reports tendered, eight written in Detective Report Format are outright forgeries.
It is obvious from the format, grammar and positioning of stamps as well as the stamps used that the reports in issue certainly did not emanate from the state command. They were, therefore, forged by someone who might have seen or had access to service reports and had seen officially dispatched mails, with their methods of classification.
"That Wole Olanipekun (SAN), being the lead counsel for Mimiko/LP, did not procure the evidences in the election petition; rather it was the petitioner (Mimiko) who did."
The DSS report, signed by Mohammed Usman for the Director-General of SSS, indicted two service personnel of culpability in the forged security report saga, when it said: "It is assessed that Stephen Ibrahim's closeness to all the clerks that served in the DSS secretariat, his romance with politicians, his posting to Government House, the offer to make him Chief Detail and subsequent appointment as Special Assistant (SA) Special Interest, are indicative of his culpability.
"Also, Lanre Oyeyemi (D1), who served as Secretary to LGSC Ilaje LGA, recopying his reports, sympathetic to the Labour Party (LP), father's membership of the party coupled with the fact that two reports were leaked from the LGA, as well as being a detail to the governor, establishes his role in the stealing and leakage of the Service's reports."
Usman said that while "administrative actions are being taken against the identified staff linked to the forgeries and leakages," he was forwarding the report to his superiors for information and considered action.
Reacting to the development, the state chairman and secretary of the Ondo PDP, Ebenezer Alabi and Oyedele Ibine respectively said the truth concealed had been revealed by the reports.
"In spite of a clear case of electoral/judicial fraud as evidenced above, the LP/Mimiko had manoeuvred their way to stay in power since February 2009. Unfortunately, their tenure has brought untold hardship to the people of Ondo State," the duo stated.
National Mirror