Governor’s certificate scandal: Lawyer alleges police intimidation in Kwara

Counsel to a prospective co-claimant on a suit challenging the authenticity of Secondary School certificate of Kwara State governor, Olawale Babalola, has alleged that police in the state are intimidating him over the matter.

Babaloba was, alongside his client, Olusola Olaseinde, in the court last Monday with the bid to move a motion on the application for the client to be joined in the case.

The state High Court, sitting in Ilorin, had adjourned till June 26 the matter after holding that the case has not been discontinued by the first claimant, Olufemi Abraham, ruling that the defendant was still within the time to respond to the notice of the application of joinder by the prospective co-claimant.

The counsel to the prospective co-claimant alleged that immediately after the court proceedings last Monday and while still being within the court premises, he was accosted by three policemen in mufti who arrested him and took him to the Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) at the State Police Headquarters.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, Babalola, together with his client, said that the detectives told him there was a petition against him that he forged the receipt of filing fees of the processes of his client filed in the court.

He said he refuted the claim by explaining that he was not the one who filed the processes but his client, adding that he only prepared the documents and gave them to the client to file.

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The lawyer said despite his explanation and efforts to be released on bail he was not released by the police as he was made to pass the night in a cell.

Babalola said though, through the intervention of some of his colleague lawyers, he was granted bail the following day, the police still asked him to be reporting to the Bureau.

While also speaking, the client confirmed that he filed the processes and paid for the filing fees and that the lawyer only prepared the papers and gave him to file.

Olaseinde wondered why his counsel would be suffering the alleged intimidation from the police, saying that since he, and not his counsel, was the one who came up with the application in the court he was supposed to be taken up on issues connecting with the matter.

He said he on his own, decided to seek to be joined in the certificate forgery case because he is a registered voter and an indigene of the state who is interested in assessing the qualifications of anyone who desires to govern the state.

Olaseinde said he has investigated the credentials the governor submitted to the INEC and found out that the secondary school certificate and testimonial submitted were allegedly not authentic.

When contacted, the state police public relations officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, said he does not have knowledge on the matter.

The PPRO, who said that the lawyer should feel free to come forward to meet with the state Commissioner of Police with his complaint, added that he was not aware of the matter.