Police Open Adeleke’s Trial over Alleged Examination Malpractice
Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Inspector General of Police (IG) yesterday opened the trial of Senator Ademola Adeleke and four others over an alleged examination malpractice with revelations by witnesses that they did not see the Senator in the examination hall during the 2017 National Examination Council (NECO) examinations.
Two witnesses called by the police, Buhari Moshood and Isamotu Funmilayo, who were supervisors in the examination at Ojo-Aro CommunityGrammer School Center, in Osun State, denied seeing the senator in the examination hall on the days of the examinations.
Led in evidence by counsel to the police, Simon Lough, the first prosecution witness, Buhari Moshood, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja,that on June 21, 2017, while acting as supervisor, he saw five matured men among the students billed to participate in the NECO exams.
The witness, who claimed to have been a teacher for 35 years, told Justice Inyang Ekwo, that he can only identify Adeleke Sikiru, (2nd defendant) among the five matured men who were participating in the English Language examination that he supervised.
The witness, who identified an exam paper bearing the nameof Adeleke Ademola, insisted that he did not see the defendant on the seat in the exam hall and that he did not challenge the adult persons in the examination hall because it was not his duty to do so.
Under cross examination by Dr. Alex Izinyon SAN, counsel to SenatorAdeleke, the witness said he will be surprised to see NECO issuing certificate to anybody who did not sit for exams. He admitted that the identities of all the students in their identity cards were in order and that there was no police presence in the school to ask for the person of Adeleke.
Moshood also admitted that the examination went well and that no candidate can impose himself on the school for the purpose of the examination.
Answering a question, the witness admitted that he cannot know all the students who sat for the examination and insisted that there was no cheating on the examination day as the exam was free and fair.
The second witness, Isamotu Funmilayo, who claimed to have been a teacher for 13 years, in her own evidence told the court that she supervised English Literature Paper on July 17, 2017, and that she saw two matured men in the exam hall but can only identify Adeleke Sikiru, whom she said sat quietly with his exams papers.