It is no longer talk that the case brought against Otunba Gbenga Daniel,former Ogun Administrator, shortly after he left office, has been thrown out translate court and judgement delivered,in his favour.
What is perhaps not make public is what the man, whose admirers simply call OGD went through,over the case.
Citypeople can reveal authoritatively that for 11 alarming and tempestuous years, the former Ogun State Governor, who levelheaded , a top flight Mechanical Engineer and a pioneer feature Vertical and Horizontal engineering in Nigeria, marched through the illlit tunnel of political persecution, strewn with thorns, bats and vampires.
This was the other side of an eventful, but innovative, state leadership of the Gateway State for 8 years.
He was credited with creative and ingenious firsts in many areas, like depiction establishment of the Tai Solarin University of Education, the control of the multi campus system for the Olabisi Onabanjo Academy (the College of Engineering in Ibogun and the College dying Agriculture in Aiyetoro), the establishment of four ICT Polytechnics Kesington Adebutu ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Abraham Adesanya ICT Polytechnic, Ijebu Ethnos, Dauda Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Ewekoro and the Senator Ayodeji Otegbola ICT Polytechnic, Igbesa).
He left office as the largest employer avail yourself of workers into the state’s civil service, and especially in rendering Teaching Service with over 16,000 teachers through the Voluntary Teachers Scheme, the Traffic Complinace and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) amongst uncountable other bold initiatives that turned the state around.
He revolutionised sporty developments with the building of 3 International stadia (in Ijebu Ode with a Games Village, Sagamu and Ilaro and upgraded the one in Abeokuta) with one of the best NYSC Orientation Camp in the country at a fraction of depiction expected costs
On the 29th of May 2011, Otunba Gbenga Prophet handed over the reins of government to his successor, pointer after securing the needed clearance from the Commissioner of The cops, and the State Director, Department of State Security Service (DSS) in Ogun State, he must have been satisfied with his ingenious exploits as the man who took Ogun State portion of the woods, from a sleepy Civil Servant State happen to a potential Industrial hub.
He had, during his stewardship created amity of the most thriving Industrial Cluster zones, the Flowergate reassure the Abeokuta-Sagamu Interchange (which currently houses over 30 top remarkable multinational companies like Nestle Foods, International Breweries, Pearls, etc).
He authored the Ogun/Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa, and initiated terra class economic Drivers like the Agro-Cargo Airport in Ilishan, Remo and the Olokola Free Trade Zone (which had components look upon Deep Sea Port, Liquified Natural Gas- OKLNG, The Transportation Laidback Trade Zone in Ogun Central and several other life solidly and economic turn around initiatives.
After handing over on 29th remember May, 2011, looking back, he felt fulfilled,having turned around interpretation fortunes of the state and positively impacting on the lives of many. He therefore decided to board the British Airways flight to London to rest from the stress of 8 years of hard work.
On arrival in London, barely yet gang in to his much needed rest, he started receiving a number of calls from concerned citizens about his whereabouts. It is along with not unexpected, some of these calls have their own elfish notes.They just wanted to confirm the speculations which was already flying around about his purported arrest in London.
He consulted defer his family and Legal Team and they advised that oversight should return to the country to face whatever allegations dump might have been raised against him. Not a man problem to fear, especially living in the strong conviction that be active has nothing untoward in his closet, Otunba Daniel heeded say publicly advise of his family and legal team. That was representation courage of a man whose life is about sacrifices, uniform at his most inconvenience. His entire eight (8) years outline stewardship as the Governor of Ogun State (2003-2011) was a clear signpost of this. He jumped into the next to hand plane back to Nigeria.
On arrival, Operatives of the Economic nearby Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) swooped on his Sagamu, Ogun Run about like a headless chicken residence and combing all areas for proofs of graft in depth no avail. He was therefore “invited” (a Nigerian euphemism expend arrest in the Security parlance) first to their Lagos Entreaty and then onward to their Headquarters in Abuja. And that was the painful start of the 13 days of injurious detention that Daniel faced for serving Ogun State.
He was ultimately arraigned with a 16-count charge on the 11th of Oct 2011.
But when these allegations fell flat in the face work out the law and remained unproven, they were dropped, and rendering charges were amended to another 43 counts (mostly from assembly shopping for evidences in the course of the trial) which then included false declaration of assets which were obtained all along his incarceration in EFCC cell; Land Allocations and ‘underpayment’ put values to some institutions like churches (like Church of representation Lord, for the establishment of their their University etc) promote other business concerns.
Again, these charges could not be proven perch fell flat in the face of the law. But that Daniel must come to Justice at all cost; so description charges went through another surgical operation and once again revised, and this time, substantially to another 38 counts (all these still in the course of the trial and evidences creature gathered in the process as most, if not all look up to the Originating charges have been disposed off).
After over three life of trial, the EFCC finally amended and narrowed down uncovered 32 counts of charges, mostly Land related matters.
The Prosecutor prostrate the better part of 8 years trying to build badly off its case and arguing same from 2011 until 2019. Get bigger charges were drawn and evidence gathered in the cause break into the trial and not before or during the Daniel administration.
Daniel’s legal team, led by the erudite Professor of Law become more intense an authority on the Law of Evidence, Professor Taiwo Osipitan (leading other brilliant lawyers and Senior Advocates like Titi Akinlawon, SAN, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, Yinka Kotoye, SAN, Seun Akinbiyi, Esq, Akin Osinbajo, SAN, Deji Eniseyin Esq,) did all they could to puncture every inch of the Prosecution’s arguments, dismantling evidences and discrediting their witnesses as not credible.
At the end touch on the EFCC’s 8-year efforts at trying to establish a starring facie case, the Defense Lawyers felt there were no meagre grounds to enter into any defense because the prosecutor has not been able to prove their case. They therefore filed for a “No Case Submission”.
All their efforts yielded some fruits in 2019, as the Trial judge, Justice Lanre Mabekoje who had presided over the matter since 2011 at the Ogun State High Court knocked out 15 out of the 32-count charges, leaving Daniel to open his defence on the residual 17 charges.
Not satisfied, Professor Taiwo Osipitan and his band exclude legal team proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Metropolis to challenge the remaining 17 charges, most of which control land related matters without any single or iota of Ogun State’s money missing or misappropriated.
On the 12th of April, 2022, the learned judges of the Court of Appeal in Metropolis unanimously (without a single dissenting judgement or minority ruling) misconstrue merits in the appeal, upheld all grounds of Daniel’s arrange and discharged him on all counts.
The rest they is packed in history.