Vote Buying: Zenith Bank Official Testifies against Adebutu

An official of the Zenith Bank, Mrs. Celestina Appeal, who is the head of Card Services of the bank, yesterday at the Election Petition Tribunal in Abeokuta, Ogun State, testified against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election in Ogun State, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu.

The witness, who was subpoenaed and appeared before the tribunal in relation to the allegation of vote buying through preloaded ATM cards levelled against Adebutu, tendered evidence of 200,000 preloaded ATM cards produced for the PDP candidate.

The counsel to the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, had earlier informed the panel that two letters were submitted to Zenith Bank in February seeking clarification on how Adebutu opened a special account for the purpose of his action with the bank as well as the request he made for issuance of 200,000 preloaded ATM cards containing N10, 000 each few days before the March 18 gubernatorial election.

The witness submitted the certified true copy of a letter written to Zenith Bank by Oladipupo Adebutu dated February 27, 2023, two days after the presidential election, requesting to open an account for the production of 200,000  ATM verve cards containing N10,000 each and totalling N2 billion.

She also presented another certified true copy of a letter written by Adebutu and addressed to the bank dated the same February 27, 2023, requesting for the issuance of the 200, 000 ATM verve cards.

Also, she tendered a record of the delivery of and collection of the prepaid ATM cards to Adebutu, and the sample of the card, including a statement of account opened in the name of Oladipupo Adebutu, which indicates the inflow and outflow of the account from February to May 2023, and Certificate of Compliance.

The second and third witnesses that appeared before the panel, Mr. Odesanya Olalekan, an artisan from Ijebu North East, and Adeosun Waheed, a businessman from Abeokuta North, both confirmed the distribution of the preloaded ATM cards by PDP members on the day of the election.

While the second witness produced the copy of the preloaded card, which was marked RA13, the third witness, Waheed, under cross-examination by counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN) and Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN) respectively, confirmed that the preloaded ATM cards were distributed by Adebutu popularly known as Baba Ijebu, adding that the cards had the inscription of Mrs. Caroline Adebutu, the mother of the PDP candidate.

While being cross-examined further, the witness testified that members of PDP disrupted the voting process in the course of their resistance to the use of the BVAS in the conduct of the election.

Meanwhile, counsel to the petitioners, Gordy Uche, in his remarks expressed his decision to reserve his objection on the tendering of various documents and letters, including the collection and delivery of the cards to his final address.

He also objected to the tendering of the copy of the cards shared by the petitioner on the day of the election but postponed the details of his objection to the point of final address.

Counsel to the second respondent (Dapo Abiodun), Prof Taiwo Osipitan, then applied for adjournment and said the next witness would need to come and demonstrate some documents, informing the court of closing his case today.

The tribunal, in its ruling, accepted the copy of the subpoena and marked it as exhibit RA5, as well as the letter tendered by the first witness, requesting for ATM by Adebutu was admitted as exhibit RA6.

In the same vein, the letter of deposit of N2 billion was marked as exhibit RA7.

The tribunal further submitted that since all the questions were direct, and witnesses answered directly, therefore, there was no need for re-examination. It then adjourned the case till today for continuation of hearing.