We’ve no case in Adeleke’s alleged exam malpractices – Defendants

The defendants charged with offences of examination malpractices allegedly involving a former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, on Tuesday urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss the case.

The four defendants are a relative of the former governorship candidate, 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 Olutope.

The four defendants, through their respective lawyers, urged Justice Inyang Ekwo to uphold their no-case submission, which they filed after the prosecution closed its case with five witnesses and held that there was no sufficient evidence by the prosecution to warrant calling on them to put up a defence.

Adeleke, who contested the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State and came second, was originally arraigned along with the four other defendants on October 31, 2018.

But Justice Ekwo had on May 29, 2020 struck Adeleke’s name off the seven charges, following a request by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Simon Lough.

Lough had said he decided to have Adeleke’s name removed from the charges because of his continued absence from court and in order not to allow the absence to continue to stall the trial.

The four remaining defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges upon their re-arraignment on May 29, 2020.

They were, among other allegations, accused of impersonating “as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School when you fraudulently registered as internal students of the school in the June/July, 2017 NECO, and having registered, conspired with unknown persons now at large to write the examination for them.”

Justice Ekwo fixed January 26, 2021 for ruling.

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