Pilot Law

My most dramatic day in court

 

Embarrassed, day missing document was found in my file

Salman Jawondo graduated from the University of Lagos in 1989, he proceeded to the Law school and was subsequently called to the Nigerian bar in 1990. He had his compulsory NYSC programme in Rivers state between 1991 and 1992. Upon his return to Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, he practised with Ismail Sadiq and Alhaji Salman Alarape (SAN). He established his law firm, Salman Jawondo & Co. in 2005. He however recounts to KAYODE ADEOTI, his most daunting experience as a lawyer.

The day I will never forget in my life in this profession, I can’t remember the date but the incident is still fresh in my mind and it occurred around 1996. The matter bordered on election petition in Asa Local Government area of the state during the time of Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM).
It all happened this way, Baba Saraki of Congress for National Consensus (CNC) nominated a candidate to run for the chairmanship seat in Asa Local Government, but surprisingly, his party members decided not to vote for his candidate but that of GDM. The GDM now won and the matter was taken to court by CNC. I appeared for GDM and was led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Peter Olorunisola.
After we closed our case, INEC now called the electoral officers from Asa Local Government who happened to be my social studies teacher at the New Bussa Teachers’ College. I was the person that cross examined the witness and I did it for two days, I tendered all the ballot papers of 9 polling booths that were in contention. There was a particular polling unit where DPM had nine votes, the votes were kept in white INEC envelope and it was counted before the court. The court found it tallied with the result announced.
Immediately I finished the cross examination, the lawyer from the other side informed the court that he wanted all the votes re-counted. He further mentioned a particular vote which should be re-counted. And behold, that vote could not be located, something I brought to court in support of my case. Then, the lawyer said they should search for it, lo and behold, it was found in my file. It was planted there to embarrass me. In an attempt to win case, a colleague could have done that to me…

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