Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, along with nine others, has been arraigned by the Federal Government before the State High Court in Abeokuta for alleged vote buying.
The charges against Mr. Adebutu and the other defendants were filed by the federal government, as earlier reported by PREMIUM TIMES.
On Monday, Mr. Adebutu was charged in absentia since he has been out of the country since shortly after the 18th of March election. He did not respond to the police invitation regarding allegations of electoral malpractices and money laundering, which led to his arraignment.
The allegations were raised against Mr. Adebutu and his party, the PDP, in a petition submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to the Inspector General of Police on the day of the 18th of March election.
The APC petition, written by its state chairman, Yemi Sanusi, was investigated by the State Criminal Investigations Department in Abeokuta, after which the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice filed the criminal charges against Mr. Adebutu and the other defendants.
Earlier, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi had adjourned the matter until the 10th of July due to the inability of the court’s process servers to serve Mr. Adebutu and his co-defendants with the information sheet.
However, during the Monday session, Mr. Adebutu remained at large, while Ogunbona Hammed, Tiamiyi Waleed, Egunsola Owolabi, Sanni Adejoke, and Malik, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 10th defendants, respectively, were present in court.
They all pleaded not guilty to the four counts, and their counsel, Muyiwa Obanewa, subsequently requested bail on their behalf. The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, did not oppose the granting of bail to the defendants.
Justice Akinyemi granted bail to the accused individuals in the sum of N100,000 each, with one surety each.
The court then adjourned the case until the 26th of September for a definite hearing.