The federal government has opted to remove the name of the former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke from the charge list for alleged examination malpractice.
The matter had been in court before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja since October 2018.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Simon Lough, told the judge on Thursday 28th May that they would want to discontinue the case against Adeleke.
He noted that the decision is based on Adeleke’s continued absence from court since the court granted him permission to embark on a medical trip abroad in May 2019 so that his absence would not continue to stall the case.
Lough told the court they would want to amend the charges to remove Senator Adeleke’s name as a defendant while the rest of the co-defendants were retained to continue to face the trial.
Naija News recalls others arraigned with Adeleke were Sikiru Adeleke; the principal of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Alhaji Aregbesola Muftau; the registrar of the school, Gbadamosi Ojo; and a teacher in the school, Dare Samuel Olutope.
The prosecution accused the five defendants of committing the offence of examination malpractices by fraudulently, through impersonation, registering Adeleke and another Sikiru Adeleke, as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, in Ojo-Aro in Osun State, for the National Examination Council’s June/July 2017 Senior School Certificate Examination in February 2017.
It alleged that Ademola and Sikiru Adeleke were fraudulently registered for the examination and “awarded them seven credits, one pass, and five credits respectively.”
Defence lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), did not object to the prosecution’s decision to amend the charges but wanted the court to discharge and acquit his client.
Izinyon’s move was however opposed by the prosecution counsel.
After listening to both parties, Justice Ekwo announced his decision to rule on the disagreement between the two lawyers on Friday.
Adeleke contested the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and came second.
source https://www.naijanews.com/2020/05/29/fg-drops-exam-malpractice-charges-against-adeleke/
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