Adebutu, others are charged with allegedly buying votes

Ladi Adebutu, the People’s Democratic Party candidate for governor of Ogun State in 2023, was accused of vote-buying on Monday by the Federal Government.
Adebutu appeared alongside five other people before the Abeokuta-based Ogun State High Court.

According to information obtained by our correspondent, the All Progressives Congress petitioned the Inspector General of Police regarding the allegation through Yemi Sanusi, the party’s Ogun State Chairman.

The State Criminal Investigations Department Eleweran, Abeokuta, reportedly looked into the allegation.

On June 2, 2023, the high court received the charge sheet for the case with the case number AB/10C/2003. It stated that Adebutu, along with Messrs. Ogunbona Hammed, Tiamiyu Waliu, Egunsola Owolabi, Sanni Adegoke, Hon. Dare Lukman Ogunleye, Dayo Fasina, Wasiu Enilolobo, and Malik Badmus, were being prosecuted on

The specifics of the crime state that Adebutu and the co-accused “on or about 18th of March at Ibara, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire among yourselves to corruptly give gifts in form of verve prepaid cards which had inscribed on them ‘Dame Caroline Oladuni Adebutu Memorial Endorsement Scheme for Less Privileged’ in order to induce voters to attempt the return of PDP candidates during the gubernatorial and

Additionally, Adebutu was charged with providing 200,000 prepaid verve cards bearing the same name and loaded with N10,000 each “for the purpose of corruptly influencing voters to vote for PDP candidates” during the aforementioned elections.

Adebutu did not attend the hearing on Monday, but the other five defendants—Ogunbona Hammed, Tiamiyi Waleed, Egunsola Owolabi, Sanni Adejoke, and Malik—were all present.

Their attorney Muyiwa Obanewa then urged the court to grant the defendants bail after they all entered not guilty pleas to all four counts.

After considering the evidence, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi granted the accused N100,000 bail with one surety per accused person who must be either bondsmen or family members of the defendants.

For a specific hearing, the court continued the case until September 26, 2023.