Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state stated that his arrest in the United States for credit card fraud and deception in 1986 were not enough reasons for his dismissal by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abiodun revealed this in response to a request by APC member Ayodele Oludiran on behalf of Oluwatobi Sofela of the Ogun Bibire Unity Forum to the party’s National Chairman, Abdulahi Adamu.
Sofela warned that the party could lose its seat in Ogun because of Abiodun’s criminal record and his coverage to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) despite swearing an oath.
He also warned that inconsistencies in the governor’s educational qualifications could lead to opposition parties questioning whether he was eligible for re-election, turning voters away from them.
“If action is not taken, the chances of our great party, the APC, retaining the governorship seat in Ogun State shall be in jeopardy as previously seen in Bayelsa and Zamfara states,” Sofela said.
A report noted that Abiodun said the possibility of his arrest was not a criminal offense and therefore he could not be held accountable for the laws applicable to criminals.
He added that although he was convicted in 1986, the Nigerian constitution only prohibits former criminals from entering political office if their sentence is less than 10 years before election day.
“An aspirant or candidate will only be disqualified by the court if the false information he gives relates to a constitutional requirement of eligibility. APC is not a court of law. Accordingly, it cannot disqualify our client,” the governor’s lawyer, Afe Babalola wrote in a letter to Adamu, citing section 29(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“In any event, assuming but not conceding that our client was even convicted in 1986, he would still not be affected or caught by Section 182 (1) (e) of the CFRN because the CFRN requires that the conviction which would disqualify a person from the position of the governor must have occurred ten years before the date of election to the office.”
An earlier report showed a criminal record of how Abiodun was arrested in 1986 for credit card fraud in Miami Dade Florida, USA.
The governor allegedly used a pseudonym (Shawn Michael Davids) to disguise his criminal record.
The record reveals that Abiodun was arrested for criminal offenses involving credit card fraud, petty theft and fraudulent checks.
He was arrested on November 7, 1986, for allegedly assaulting a police officer trying to prevent his arrest.
During the investigation at the station, his fingerprints were used on the crime website and it was discovered that the Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun who was being investigated for arrest was similar to Shawn Michael Davids.
His criminal record was thus strengthened and he was arrested.
According to some documents obtained by SaharaReporters, Abiodun’s prison number was 8600B9436.
In 2015, while fighting for the Ogun East Senatorial seat against the late Buruji Kasamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he applied for the re-recording of his criminal records in Miami Dade, Florida.
This act of concealment meant that he could lie on his form of the National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he had no criminal records before; a false charge that would have disqualified him from having a designated or electoral office in Nigeria.
The redevelopment was approved in August 2015.
