Adeleke’s Certificate Saga: Court Adjourns To August 6; Parties Consider Out-Of- Court Settlement

Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has adjourned till Monday, August 6 for hearing of all pending applications before it including the application for an out-of-court settlement made by the plaintiffs in the case challenging the authenticity of Senator Ademola Adeleke’s West Africa School Certificate Examination certificate.

Mr Olufemi Ayandokun, who is the counsel for Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu, the plaintiffs in the case, told the court on Tuesday that his clients informed him late Monday night of the possibility of exploring an out-of-court settlement.

He said leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party had been talking to the two PDP members and who are the plaintiffs in the matter to drop the case because of the damaging effect it might have on the party.

He said, “The plaintiffs in the case want to look for an amicable way and an out-of-court settlement of the case.  They want to see how they can settle it out of court. We want to ask for an adjournment till next week to report to the court on this.”

Ayandokun also told the court that the Independent National Electoral Commission was served the court process in the matter through a courier company but the electoral commission evaded the service.

Counsel for the first defendant (Adeleke), Edmond Biri-Omoni, said the plaintiffs had yet to approach his client on the out-of-court settlement.

He, however, told the court that he would not raise any objection to the application on the out-of-court settlement, but said the motion on notice should either be heard or be struck out.

Counsel for the PDP Chairman in Osun State, Mr Lekan Olayiwola, also did not raise any objection to the application but prayed the court to either hear the motion on notice or strike it out.

The presiding judge, Justice David Oladimeji, adjourned the case till Monday for hearing all pending allocations before him.

In an interview with journalists outside the courtroom, the counsel for the Osun State Chairman of the PDP explained that the party did not institute the case in the court against its governorship candidate.

He said, “There is even nothing to substantiate that Senator Ademola Adeleke is not eligible to contest the governorship election.”

The plaintiffs, who are members of the PDP in the state, had approached the court asking for an order restraining Adeleke from presenting himself as the candidate of the party in the September 22, 2018 poll because he did not possess the basic required qualification which is the secondary school certificate.

The plaintiffs had also prayed the court to restrain the PDP from presenting Adeleke and the INEC from accepting the nomination of Adeleke as the party’s governorship candidate pending the determination of the case.