The Lagos Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday declined to subpoena Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to appear before it in an election petitions filed against his election by the governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Owolabi Salis and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Chief Ifagbemi Awamaridi.
The three-man panel, chaired by Justice Terhemen Asua, held that Governor Sanwo-Olu is covered by the immunity clause in the constitution as a sitting governor and that “because of the provisions of the constitution, he cannot be compelled to appear in the court”.
The tribunal gave this verdict while ruling in separate ex parte motion filed by the duo of Salis and Awamaridi.
They are challenging the victory of Sanwo-Olu in the March 9, 2019 election held in the state.
Aside from Sanwo-Olu, other respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC), the Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the Returning Officer (RO), the Commissioner of Police and the Army.
Salis and Awamaridi had filed separate motion ex parte, asking the governorship election tribunal to compel the governor and INEC to appear and testify before the court.
The motion ex parte was brought pursuant to order 8, rule 1(3) & (4) of the Electoral Act (as amended) 2010 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the tribunal.
In their separate applications filed by their counsel, Mr. Bola Aidi and supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit, they averred that they made several attempts to serve some of the witnesses listed in their petition, but they were to no avail.
They alleged that Sanwo-Olu, INEC, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State and the Returning Officer were evading service to frustrate the hearing of their petition.
Their counsel, Aidi, prayed the tribunal to consider the time-frame within which the petitioners are to call their witnesses and provide evidence in the petition.
He said: “It is imperative to serve some of these persons by way of substituted service.”
Aidi, on behalf of the petitioners, therefore, prayed the tribunal “for an order for the subpoena duces tecum/testificandum on the listed persons by way of substituted service to wit serving their counsel representing them”.
The tribunal, however, granted the petitioners’ request to serve the returning officers of the 20 local governments’ councils by way of pasting the court documents on the wall of INEC office in Lagos.
“Upon perusing of the motion ex pàrte, we are satisfied that the good cause has been shown by the petitioners.
“The prayer to serve the subpoena duces tecum/testificandum shall be served as prayed on the other respondents.
“But as far as the first respondent (Sanwo-Olu) is concerned, he is covered by the immunity clause as a sitting governor; he cannot be compelled to appear in the court,” the tribunal held.