Osun Tribunal ‘Buga’ Judgement: Stop Being A Judge For Oyetola, Rights Group Tells Falana

A human rights group, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has advised a human rights lawyer, Barrister Femi Falana to stop being a Judge for immediate past Governor of Osun State,Mr. Gboyega Oyetoola of All Progressive Congress (APC) over the recent Osun Tribunal ”Buga” judgement, saying that the recent comments credited to Barrister Falana in the media, were short of a human rights activist and a Senior Learned Silk.

The group also disclosed that Falana, a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), should stop being prejudice to the outcome of the Appellate and Supreme Courts on the subject matter because, the ‘Buga’ judgement was not acceptable to the good people of Osun State that freely given four years mandate to Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke on July 16th, 2022.

Falana, a Senior Advocate on Television Programme recently, prejudiced that it would be daunting task for Appellate and Supreme Courts to upturn the bought ”Buga” Tribunal Judgement on Osun Governorship election, recalling that fomer Governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola and current Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Timothy Owoeye had earlier prejudiced the outcome of the Tribunal with ‘Buga’ Judgement in the favour of Oyetola.

Quoting Falana that, “The Tribunal sacked Adeleke for overvoting at over Seven Hundred(700 polling units in the governorship election and declared the former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the July 16, 2022, gubernatorial election.

“What the voters in those areas have to do is to sue INEC for damages that you have wasted our votes.Looking at the judgement, I believe very strongly that it is going to be a daunting task to impeach the judgement. INEC has to be held completely responsible for what happened”.

Responding to the Falana’s position, through a signed press statement by the CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and copies were made available to newsmen on Tuesday, the group disagreed with the Falana’s position by maintaining that “to go against the Osun ‘Buga’ Tribunal Judgement, is the most easiest way for both Appellate and Supreme Courts in the land to save the nation’s judiciary as the last hope of common man from total collapsed.

It further stressed that this is most easiest task for the Appellate and Supreme Courts to separate the ‘Buga’ Tribunal Judgement from real judgement by upholding the truth and justice of Minority Judgement on the matter, to save the judiciary from imminent collapse and if they do otherwise, posterity would not be kind to the two authourity Courts.

It added that the position of the Minority judgement on the case was very cleared that when you assert in law, the onus lies on the Petitioner to prove over voting beyond reasonable doubt by front loading and pleading through the Party Agents that witnessed the occurrence at the acclaimed affected poling units, adding that the reverse was the case of ‘Buga’ Tribunal Majority Judgement by bringing emotion to the front burner on the serious case that affected the life existence of a State.

According to the group, “It is very unfortunate that Barrister Femi Falana could be on the side of imperial feudal than Osun masses who totally rejected former Governor Gboyega Oyetola at the poll on July 16th, 2022. But we are not surprised as Biblical statement opined that when the world is going to an end, many people would proclaim my name that they are from ‘ME’ but they are not from HIM”.

“As a stakeholder in the Nigeria Project, especially, as a friend of the Court- ‘Amicus Curiae’; We are still not coming to the term with, when the emotion become norms for the judicial officers to determine a case before them, instead of weight of evidential proofs beyond reasonable doubt.

“But we remembered our respected late mentor, legal luminary and doyen of human rights activism in Africa, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi(SAN), whose unperishable word still relevant till today that ‘TRUTH’ has no colour than ‘TRUTH’ and every Nigerian knows that the elder brother to Mr. Gboyega Oyetola and former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu could bribe his way on anything, even, “if the Prophets of God come back to life today, he would bribe them to get what he does not belong to him”.

The rights group, therefore, declared that it would soon write the National Judicial Council (NJC), anti- graft agencies and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on the Tribunal Judges to expose what transpired behind the bar on the subject matter.