The 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the State, Oladipupo Adebutu, was on Tuesday arraigned in court.
Adebutu was arraigned alongside five others before Justice Abiodun Akinyemi of the state High Court, over a seven-count charge bordering on vote buying and other offences in a case number AB/10c/2023 (FRN Vs Adebutu &Ors)
Adebutu was accused of inducement during the March 18 poll by security agents alongside other members of his party.
He was alleged to have ordered 200,000 preloaded ATM verve cards with N10,000 through his bank.
The ATM cards were said to have been distributed on the day of the election across the state with the alleged intention of inducing voters.
Adebutu and six other people were later charged to court by the police, but he was said to have travelled out of the country for medical treatment and returned in December 2023.
The Governorship candidate while appearing physically for the first time before the court, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.
The presiding judge, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi, therefore, granted the first defendant, Adebutu bail in the sum of N1m with a surety in like sum who may be a family member or bondsman.
The case has been adjourned till Wednesday, February 7, 2024, for hearing.
