Two witnesses in the ongoing trial of Senator Ademola Adeleke on a seven-count amended charge bordering on examination malpractice on Wednesday, April 3. told the Federal High Court Abuja that they did not see the senator in the examination hall.
The witnesses, Emmanuel Adesola and Enoch Adigun, both teachers, while being led in evidence by the prosecutor Simon Lough, told the court that they invigilated examinations at Ojo -Aro Community Grammar School in Osun State in 2017, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Adesola told the court that when he got to school, he asked for the school album but was told it was not ready.
He: “I could not identify any student without the school album since it was my first time there so the principal and the register helped me to identify them as I used the list I had to call the students into the hall.
“I didn’t see any of the defendants in the examination hall; Sen. Adeleke was not in the examination hall, he is a public figure so I would have recognised him.”
The witness who further told the court that he had been supervising National Examination Council (NECO) examination for the past five years also told the court that there were four elderly students in the hall.
While being cross examined by Alex Iziyon, (SAN), the witness said that he did not make a formal report on the absence of a school album to his superiors even though he ought to have done so.
He also told the court that on the day he invigilated, he did not witness any form of examination malpractice in the hall.
On his part, Adigun told the court that he saw the second defendant, Sikiru Adeleke in the examination hall while he was invigilating.
He said: “I was surprised to see him because he was the most matured student in the hall but when I checked and saw that he had an identity card duly stamped by the school, I had to allow him write the examination.”
Adigun said that he did not see Adeleke in the examination hall or any of the other defendants besides Sikiru.
The trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter until Monday, June 10 and 11 for continuation of hearing.