The Federal High Court Abuja was on Friday asked to decide whether Ademola Adeleke still qualified to be a serving Senator having been found guilty of forging the Secondary School Certificate he used in contesting election.
Adeleke won the supplementary election on the platform of the PDP to close up the vacant Osun West Senatorial District Seat created by the demise of his elder brother Sen. Isiaka Adeleke in 2017.
This is contained in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/462/2019 and filed by Akinwale Olaniyi and Akinjide Monsuru and made available to newsmen by their Counsel, Mr Ola Adeosun in Abuja.
The other respondents are the Peoples Democratic Party, the Senate, Senate President and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court is asked to decide whether with the combined provisions of Sect. 65 (2) (a) of the Constitution and judgment of the FCT High Court delivered April 2, Adeleke still qualified to occupy the seat.
Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court had in that judgment declared the Secondary School Certificate presented by Adeleke to INEC as fake.
NAN however, reports that dissatisfied by the judgment, Adeleke approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja to challenge the decision of the court.
The plaintiffs further prayed that if the above question was in the negative, the court should decide whether the combined effect of the stated provisions of the constitution and the judgment nullified Adeleke’s position as senator.
They also prayed the court to decide whether the combined effect of the above provisions with the judgment, the first defendant could still draw salaries from the senate.
The plaintiffs therefore, said if the three questions raised were answered in the negative, the court should declare Adeleke unfit to contest the July 2017 Osun West Senatorial District election.
They also urged the court to declare the participation of the first defendant and his eventual declaration as the winner of the election as null, void and of no effect.
The plaintiffs further urged the court to declare that the continuous representation of the first defendant in the senate as senator representing Osun West Senatorial District as illegal, null and void.
In the light of the above, the plaintiffs asked for an order to direct INEC to withdraw the certificate of return already issued to the first defendant as the elected senator representing Osun West Senatorial District at the senate.
They also asked for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the senate and the senate president from further recognizing and dealing with Adeleke as senator representing Osun West Senatorial District of Osun State.
The plaintiffs prayed for another order of perpetual injunction restraining Adeleke from further parading himself as a senator representing Osun West Senatorial District.
They further prayed for an order for the court to direct Adeleke to refund all salaries, allowances and other emoluments so far collected from the coffers of the Federal Government with immediate effect.
NAN reports that the case file is yet to be assigned to a judge. (NAN)
