By Steve Oni, Ilorin.
Barrister Olawale Babalola, Counsel to a prospective co-claimant on suit challenging authenticity of Secondary School Certificate of Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, has alleged police intimidation over the matter.
Babalola, alongside his client, Olusola Olaseinde, was in court last Monday with the bid to move a motion on application for his client to be joined in the case.
However, the court, a High Court sitting in Ilorin, had adjourned till June 26 after holding that the case has not been discontinued by the claimant, Olufemi Abraham, while ruling that the defendant was still within the time to respond to the notice of application of joinder by the prospective co-claimant.
The Counsel 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.
When contacted, the state police public relations officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, said he did not have the knowledge of the matter, adding that the lawyer should feel free to come forward to meet with the state Commissioner of Police with his complaint.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, Babalola, together with his client, said 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. But he refuted the claim, saying he was not the one who filed the processes but his client. He added that he only prepared the documents and gave them to the client to file.
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 cell.
Babalola said, though through the intervention of some of his colleagues 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 any one 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.
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