Agagu petitions CJN over removal

Former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Agagu, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mrs. Aloma Mukhtar, over his removal from office in 2009 by the Court of Appeal based on State Security Service reports presented by the Labour Party.

Agagu, in a petition dated September 28 and addressed to the CJN, challenged his removal based on the police investigation, which claimed that the SSS reports presented by Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his party, were forged.

He described the results by the Independent National Electoral Commission declaring the LP as the winner of the 2007 governorship election as being “fraudulently procured”.

The petitioner said the SSS report the tribunal relied on in nullifying the elections in 10 local government councils was forged.

According to him, the election in the areas under contention was won by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

Relying on the report of the investigation purportedly signed by the Commissioner of Police, Special Investigation Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Ali Amodu, dated October 25, 2010, Agagu submitted that, “It is against public interest for a party in a suit to produce fraudulent evidence to deceive the court into giving him a favourable judgment.”

In the two-page letter entitled, ‘The travesty of Justice in my removal as governor of Ondo State,’ he alleged that LP’s votes were inflated by the affected councils.

The petition read in part, “The Justice G.N. Nabaruma-led panel had on July 25, 2008 inflated votes in two of the seven undisputed local government areas and these manipulations were upheld by the Court of Appeal.

“The local governments were Akoko South West (34,840 to 38,840), Owo (34,427 to 34,457). By these errors, the PDP lost 4,030 votes.

“The tribunal went out of its way to reduce the votes of the PDP in Akoko North West. There are 10 wards in the local government and election from Ajowa Ward 05 was the only one disputed and its results cancelled by the tribunal.”