The 'Dancing Senator' Has A Case To Answer, Period. By Agih, Sylvester Isaac

In the same vain, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), through its 1st spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, has also issued a statement condemning the conduct of the police as indeed, the Buhari-led administration in the following strong words: “The Buhari administration has now become shameless, purposeless, conscienceless and clueless. The plot by the APC government working with the Police which now behaves like the security arm of the APC to arrest key opposition governorship candidates and their supporters 24 hours to election to deprive them of the chance to make adequate preparation for the election shall be resisted”. The foregoing mirrors the feeling of Nigerians in recent times, particularly regarding the conduct of security operatives under the present administration. While it may appear that the Buhari-led government is open to adopting any ploy necessary to compel those perceived as ‘opponents’ to conform to its whims and caprices, including the arbitrary use of security personnel to achieve its results, it is submitted that this is not true in all cases. At least, not in the instant regard. The invitation by the police to Adeleke, on the allegation of exam malpractice, criminal conspiracy and personation, inter alia, should not be hastily adjudged as “witch-hunting”, “harassment”, or “a ploy to distract or take the PDP governorship candidate out of circulation” as it is currently being done by critics of the Buhari-led government. It should rather be viewed from the focal point of whether the allegations are real or tenable in law to warrant the calling of the senator to answer to the same. Below is an analysis of the allegations as reported by Vanguard in its news of Wednesday, 19/09/2018.

1. ON THE ALLEGATION OF MALPRACTICE: The charge against Adeleke on examination malpractice seems real enough. The senator himself confirmed this in his cautionary statement to the police when he admitted that he registered for the 2017 NECO examination as an internal student but he didn’t sit for the examination. Relying on this piece of fact, one may pose a question as follows: if Senator Adeleke registered for the NECO 2017 internal examination but fails to sit for the exams, how then did he come about the result from NECO with Seven (7) Credits and One (1) Pass, a copy of which was obtained from NECO by the Police? A clear case of examination malpractice therefore exists, and the senator should be afforded the opportunity to answer to the same, accordingly.
2. ON THE ALLEGATION OF PERSONATION: Adeleke, in his cautionary statement, also admitted against interest that he registered for the NECO examination as an internal student. This presupposes that he was a regular student of the OJO/Aro Community High School in Osun state. But even more interesting is the fact that the Ojo/Aro 2017 NECO, SSCE school photo album contained the photographs of Senator Ademola Adeleke and his brother, Sikiru Adeleke in school uniform as if both were regular or full time students of the school. Amusingly however, all but the said photographs of the two brothers bear the NECO stamp on them. This leads one to the irresistible conclusion that the said photographs of the brothers were unlawfully smuggled into the school’s photo album in an attempt to personate students of the school. But if this is otherwise and Adeleke feels strongly about it, he should accept the police invitation and thus, clear the air in court. It is as simple as that.
3. ON THE ALLEGATION OF CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY: The fact that the first two offences above cannot be accomplished without the concurrence of the school principal, Alhaji Aregbesola Mufutau, and the other persons with whom Adeleke was charged, raises the presumption of criminal conspiracy against the suspects. Again, it is for the dancing senator – and any of the suspects, for that matter – to rebut the presumption, if need be. What better place to do this than in a court of law?
4. FALSIFICATION OF AGE: whereas the date of birth of senator Adeleke on his 2017 NECO result reflected “12th June 1997”, in his statement to the police, Adeleke wrote that his date of birth was “13th May, 1960”. There is thus, a clear case of conflict in the senator’s date of birth. He was either born in 1960, in which case he is 58 years old or he was born in 1997, in which case he is 21 years old. One however, needs not be a genius, to figure out the senator’s true age. For example, in suit number FCT/HC/BW/CV/122/2018 brought by two plaintiffs challenging Adeleke’s eligibility to participate in the governorship contest on ground of alleged certificate forgery, the court in its ruling directed that WAEC should depose to an affidavit, either denying or confirming that Adeleke sat for the exams held at Ede Muslim High School in Ede, Osun State, in 1981. In compliance with the order, WAEC deposed to a 4 paragraph affidavit confirming that Senator Ademola Adeleke, was among the 221 candidates that sat for the examination conducted by it in May/June, 1981. If this information is anything to go by, it means that Adeleke’s true date of birth could not have been 12th June 1997 as claimed in his 2017 NECO result. This is because if this were otherwise so, then Adeleke could not have possibly existed in 1981 to have registered and even sat for the SSCE examination as affirmed on oath by WAEC in its affidavit to the court. Thus, it can again be seen that Adeleke has a case to clarify in court.

Accordingly therefore, and regardless of what its true motive may be, the Nigerian police has a duty under sections 4 and 23 of the Police Act respectively, to investigate and prosecute offenders where a probable cause exist to so do. In the instant regard, the dancing senator has given the police more reasons than necessary to have him investigated and prosecuted, as can be seen above. That the police therefore, decided to take him up on his offer or that the timing for so doing was bad for him or his party, is simply too bad. Again, critics cannot properly impute bad faith into the conduct of the police merely because the police in their view had in the past turned a blind eye to similar crimes committed. The cases of the erstwhile Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who confessed to having a forged, NYSC Exemption Certificate and the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution and Chairman of the Special Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, whose certificate, WAEC openly told the National Assembly, is fake, readily comes to mind. But it should also be borne in mind that the power of the police to investigate or prosecute a person is discretional and not ministerial. See FAWEHINMI v. IGP. Thus, police operatives as indeed, similar agencies, are possessed of the power to pick and choose – for reasons best known to them- cases that they investigate or prosecute without having to give any explanation for so doing. The courts in Nigeria have not only given judicial recognition to this but are reluctant to interfere with such power. See the FAWEHINMI’s case supra. Thus, rather than relying on cheap political propaganda, Senator Adeleke should embrace his fate by facing his music like a man and if possible (but this is doubted) dance through it like he often does in social events. Agih, Sylvester Isaac,agihisaac@gmail.com]]>