ABUJA — Authorities of the Police Special Task Force investigating the case of perjury and alleged perversion of justice against communication giant, MTN, over Justice Ayo Salami’s telephone interaction with ACN leaders in the Osun and Ekiti tribunal judgments saga, have uncovered alleged deceit of the communication firm in the matter following MTN’s admittance, Tuesday, that the phone number which they earlier claimed belonged to one ‘Tunde Folawiyo’ is owned by former Lagos State governor and ACN leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Vanguardgathered that a new round of investigation into
alleged conspiracy by Justice Salami prior to the judgment in the Osun
and Ekiti states governorship elections petitions was sequel to a
petition to the Inspector General of Police by former Osun State
governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola which the IG tasked the CP Ali
Amodu-led Special Task Force to investigate.
…Justice Salami
In the petition entitled ‘A Case of Perjury Against Mr. Rotimi
Odusola, Senior Manager, Commercial Legal, MTN Nigeria Communications
Ltd’, Oyinlola requested the police to investigate allegations of false
evidence by MTN officials before the National Judicial Council, NJC,
panel which initially disowned the ‘Call Logs’ presented to the panel as
not authentic.
Confronted with Oyinlola’s petition, MTN officials claimed the
company gave out several SIM cards to the Lagos State Government a long
time ago and provided the Police with photographs of supposed current
users of the telephone lines.
However, while providing additional information to the Police,
Oyinlola’s principal witness, Mr. Adeolu Oyinlola, claimed that MTN was
being economical with the truth.
He stated categorically that it was the fact of the telephonic
interactions between and among Action Congress of Nigeria chieftains,
its lawyers, Justice Ayo Salami and his bosom friend, Tunji Ijaiya,
which MTN desperately tried to cover up from the National Judicial
Council’s Special Investigative Panel, that led it (MTN) to manipulate
the call data records it transmitted to the panel, through the law
enforcement and security agencies.
Both numbers, Mr. Adeolu Oyinlola claimed, belong to Bola Tinubu; one
registered in the name of the ACN leader’s aide, Gbadegesin Ademola,
while the other is registered in the name of Tunde Folawiyo, who is a
Director at MTN.
Consequently, it was gathered that the Police have asked MTN to
produce the documents (driver’s license, utility bill, crossed cheque,
passport photos) it collected from the supposed owners of the two
controversial lines, prior to accepting them on the telecoms company’s
post-paid platform.
Also, the Nigerian Communications Commission has reportedly been
served with a court order to release the biometric data of the owners of
the two lines.
It would be recalled that following the testimony of the
communication giants, NJC absolved Salami and the other justices of the
election tribunal of any ethical breach. The call logs disowned by the
MTN were allegedly sourced from Area G Police Command in Lagos, during
investigation, making former Governors Oyinlola and Segun Oni to suspect
that the MTN was acting a script to pervert the course of justice.
Officials quizzed for about 5 hrs
The telecoms officials, who were quizzed for about five hours by the
police, Tuesday, at Force Headquarters and later released on bail,
according to sources, tried in vain to convince detectives why the
numbers were registered in the names of persons other than the real
user, but this was interpreted as a ploy by the communication company to
cover up the identity of the real subscribers.
It would be recalled that Police investigators had earlier been told
by MTN officials that a second line said to belong to Tinubu was owned
by one Abdusalam Rasheed.
Meanwhile, Police sources told Vanguard that the MTN
official who initially testified before the National Judicial Council
Panel, one Rotimi Odusola who is also facing allegation of perjury for
giving false evidence in his affidavit before the court, recanted,
Tuesday, and admitted that the call logs were provided to the Area ‘G’
Police Commander by the company.
Odusola had initially claimed in his statement on oath that MTN’s
systems could not accommodate more than three months call records but
when confronted with call data records from his company, showing that
such records of up to a period spanning five months can be accessed, he
resorted to pleadings, saying the situation could only be explained by
the technical officials of the company.
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