AKINTOLA: Court to rule on recall of witnesses

Ibadan—An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, will tomorrow, rule on whether witnesses, who had testified in court, could be recalled for cross examination. The ruling is consequent upon a motion brought to the court by counsel to the family of the Late Chief Samuel Akintola, former Premier of the defunct Western Region.
The motion, which seeks the recall of witnesses, is part of the response by Mr. Olaseni Oyefeso, counsel to the family of the former Premier represented by his two surviving children, Chief Abayomi Akintola and Dr. Abimbola Akintola, to the suit instituted by Justice Ladiran Akintola, a judge of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan. Trial judge is Justice Aderemi. The motion by the defendants is predicated on the fact that they were not opportuned to cross-examine witnesses who gave evidence at the instance of the plaintiff Justice Akintola. In the main suit, Justice Akintola is claiming that he is a biological child of the late premier and is therefore, seeking the declaration of the court to that effect. However in their response, the two surviving children of the late premier, who are the defendants in the case, have asked the court not to grant the request as the plaintiff is not a biological son of their father. The ruling on the motion for the witnesses to be recalled earlier slated for last Friday has been moved to October 14, 2016. While the defendants and their counsel, who are Lagos based, were in court only to be told of the one-week adjournment, the plaintiff and his counsel were not in court, giving the impression of having prior notice of the adjournment.