The Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has categorically debunked the petition written against him by Justice Oloyede Olamide Folahanmi accusing him of being absent from the state, but the weekly executive meeting register proved otherwise.
“I have never gone on leave since November 2010 when I came into governance. There is no single truth in the judge’s petition,” he said.
“I want to say that there was no basis for the petition. It’s all lies. A judge that doesn’t know herself as judge. Judges can only be seen and not heard. She (Oloyede) doesn’t have any substance in the judiciary. She lied against me,” Aregbesola stated.
“The journalists should have checked the financial statement of the allocation before writing their stories.
“If I had collected N538 billion, Osun would have turned to Dubai. I am happy Buhari went to USA and it was said that one million barrels of crude oil was being stolen everyday.”
Aregbesola had questioned the integrity of Justice Oloyede, following the dismissal by the State House of Assembly of her petition against him and his deputy, Laoye Tomori.
He had lambasted the judge for what he said was a conduct unbecoming of judges while taking a swipe at journalists for celebrating the petition, as there was no basis for it ab initio.
Meanwhile, the Osun judge has been requested by the National Judicial Commission for her response to a petition by the Osun State Civil Societies Coalition on the heels of the first query to her allegations of sexual infidelity.
According to sources, the query was handed to Oloyede this week and expected to file her mandatory response with the CJN within 14 days.
The query was issued to the judge through the Osun State Chief Judge, Justice O.A. Ojo.
It was entitled, “Re: Petition against Justice Olamide Oloyede of the Osun State Judiciary” and reads thus:“I forward herewith a petition dated July 13, 2015 against you by one Emily Richard-Obire on the above subject matter. The petition speaks for itself.
“I shall be glad to have your comments within 14 days from the date of your receipt of this letter.”
It could not be ascertained if Oloyede had responded to any of the two queries.
Richard-Obire had alleged that the judge’s relationship with her husband was threatening her 23-year-old marriage, which had produced four children, one of whom is suffering from autism and Down’s syndrome.
In the petition addressed to Justice Mohammed, the petitioner alleged that her husband, Richard Obire, moved out of their matrimonial home in Lagos in 2011 and often travelled to Osogbo, the Osun State capital to co-habit with the judge.
She said her husband and Justice Oloyode were both adherents to Grail Message and must have met in one of their meetings.
According to her, the relationship between her husband and the judge had developed to the extent that the judge’s official car was now in Obire’s permanent possession.
Urging the NJC to restrain Justice Oloyede from further conducting an illicit affair with her husband, Richard-Obire expressed the fear that if something urgent was not done, the judge might finally “snatch” her husband and that could make him finally abdicate his responsibilities to the family.
The petition reads in part: “I am afraid that if something urgent is not done, Justice Oloyede may finally snatch my husband and he may eventually and finally abdicate his responsibilities. I have evidence to the effect that she has been addressing my husband as her “husband” and also my husband addresses her as “my beautiful wife” knowing full well that there is subsistence of marriage between us.
“I urge you to use your good offices to restrain Justice Olamide Oloyede from further acts of having an affair with my husband.”