OGUN TRUTH COMMISSION HITS BRICK WALL OVER OBASANJO'S CASE

By NBF News

By DAUD OLATUNJI
ABEOKUTA- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was yesterday accused of evading the Ogun State Truth Commission's summon over the Olowu of Owu stool as its bailiff claimed  Obsanjo's legal adviser refused to  accept the summon.

Lamenting his inability to serve Obsanjo the summon, the commission bailiff said: 'When I got to the second respondent (Obasanjo)'s house at Hiltop in Abeokuta, he was said to  be holding a meeting with Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, officials and I was directed by one of his guards  to take it to  his legal adviser at Ageloba house. I  took  it to him  but he said he was not instructed to take any court process and when I got back to  the Hiltop residence, I was told that the second respondent has travelled out.'

Reacting to the development,  counsel for the petitioner, Wahab Hibatulah, sought to  file an application for a substituted service to effect summon on Obasanjo  at the next adjourned day which was fixed for February 20.

It will be recalled that one of the contenders to the Olowu chieftaincy stool, Prince Olutayo Fadairo, filed a legal action against the incumbent monarch, Oba Olusanya Dosunmu, before a high court in Abeokuta, Ogun State, asking the court to stop Dosunmu from parading himself as the Olowu of Owu, Abeokuta.

The chieftaincy dispute in the Owu Kingdom, the home state of former President Obasanjo, occurred six years after the royal stool of Olowu of Owu, Abeokuta, was filled by the kingmakers.

The plaintiff named Obasanjo, who is also the Balogun of Owu; Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; the state attorney-general and commissioner for justice; commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs; and Secretary of Abeokuta North Local Government Area as co-defendants to the suit.

Meantime, former governor Gbenga Daniel and his wife, Funke who were dragged before Ogun State Truth Commission by former  Chairman, Ijebu-East Local Government Area, Tunde  Oladunjoye  and one Rasheed Odunaya, yesterday, prayed the commission to dismiss  the  four petitions  against them.

The petitions which range from alleged taking of blood oath under duress, invasion of Oladunjoye's private house, threat to life and assault were heard yesterday by four-man panel of commission led by Pius Aderemi.

Representing Daniel and his wife at the commission, Yemi Oke said he had filed four applications before the commission on behalf of his clients asking it to quash the petitions for allegedly 'going outside the terms of reference of the commission.'