Politics
Tribunal Validates Obi, Atiku’s Petitions Against Tinubu, Admits US Court Ruling
On the first day of the hearing of the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) accepted five exhibits as evidence.
The exhibits, presented by the LP and marked as Exhibits PA (1 to 5), included a copy of a United States court judgment alleging Tinubu’s conviction for drug trafficking, accompanied by a fine of $460,000.
Jubril Okutekpa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), led the presentation of these exhibits, and the tribunal, headed by Haruna Tsammani, admitted them on Tuesday, May 30, along with the deposition of the first witness, Lawrence Uchechukwu Nwakaeti.
President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) raised objections against the admission of the judgment into evidence.
During the cross-examination conducted by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, who represented Tinubu, Nwakaeti acknowledged that the judgment had not been registered in Nigeria.
Olanipekun further questioned the witness about the absence of any mention of a fine in the US court judgment, to which Nwakaeti agreed.
“Will you be surprised that not a single line or word relating to fine was in the US court judgment?” Olanipekun asked.
However, Nwakaeti asserted that he had read the judgment in its entirety during his visit to the United States and would be surprised if the $460,000 forfeiture was not mentioned.
Under cross-examination by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for the APC, Nwakaeti stated that the American court judgment lacked a certificate from any American police officer.
He also denied awareness of a formal clearance report from the American Embassy concerning the alleged indictment and forfeiture on February 4, 2003.
When asked by Fagbemi to provide a copy of the charges against Tinubu, Nwakaeti admitted not having one but maintained that the indictment and forfeiture arose from civil proceedings.
In a separate petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the tribunal admitted the printout of results from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) of all 36 states as evidence.
Tsammani accepted the evidence in line with the First Schedule of the Electoral Act 2022.
The court marked the evidence as PG (1-36) and PH (1-36), representing the printouts of BVAS results and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
During the opening of Atiku’s petition, his counsel, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), informed the court that the documents were filed at the beginning of the petitions and duly served to all parties, adhering to the legal requirements.
However, counsel for the second and third respondents – Tinubu and APC – objected to the admissibility of the evidence, arguing that the documents were not submitted in accordance with the law.
INEC had declared Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
According to INEC, Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, Abubakar had 6,984,520, while Obi polled 6,101,533.
The PDP and LP candidates rejected the result and approached the tribunal with separate petitions to challenge Tinubu’s victory.
They alleged that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election and that he failed to secure the majority of lawful votes cast at the poll.
Also, they are challenging the claim that Kashim Shettima, Tinubu’s running mate, had a dual nomination, which goes against the Electoral Act.
However, despite the objection, the court allowed the evidence to be presented in accordance with its pre-hearing orders. These orders specified that the parties would not dispute the certified true copies submitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court has adjourned the proceedings until May 31, during which the evidence will be further examined and arguments from the involved parties will be heard.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers has declared that nothing will prevent the upcoming local government election from holding, despite resistance from the state’s police command.
In the early hours of Friday, Fubara personally visited the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISEC) office in Port Harcourt.
The facility, where electoral materials are stored, had been barricaded by police operatives.
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The police presence, which was seen as a blockade, quickly dispersed after Fubara arrived at the scene, accompanied by lawmakers and government officials.
Their departure followed the governor’s strong opposition to the actions of the police.
The Rivers State police command had earlier announced that it would not provide security for the election, citing a federal high court order from Abuja.
Grace Iringe-Koko, the state’s police spokesperson, clarified that the decision was in compliance with the court’s directive.
However, Fubara dismissed the need for police security and criticized the police’s involvement.
He claimed that Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), was acting under the influence of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) and former Rivers governor.
“We came here this morning when we heard that the Nigeria police were taking over the RISEC premises. I had to come myself to find out why such a thing would happen,” Fubara said during his visit.
He questioned the interpretation of the court ruling, emphasizing that it did not explicitly stop the election from taking place.
“The judgment said don’t give the voter register and police, don’t provide security. But is that the same thing as blocking the election?” he asked.
Fubara insisted that the election would proceed regardless of police support, citing a similar situation in Anambra where elections were conducted without police security.
“We don’t need your security. We will provide our own,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to seeing the election through.
In a fiery speech, Fubara warned that the only way to stop the election would be if he were shot.
“I will be here. This is my property. You don’t have any power whatsoever to bar me from entering it,” he declared, adding that any attempt to do so would mark a dark chapter in the history of the IGP.
The governor’s stance has raised tensions in Rivers as the election date approaches, with both the local population and political observers closely watching the developments.
“The election will hold, results will be declared, and people will be sworn in,” Fubara vowed.
Fubara’s comments signal a deepening rift between the state government and federal security agencies, further complicating the already fraught political atmosphere in Rivers.
The coming days will determine whether the governor’s resolve will prevail or whether legal and security challenges will force a postponement of the polls.
In a dramatic turn of events on Friday, protesters stormed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office, demanding the local government elections proceed as planned.
Despite heavy rainfall, the demonstrators, chanting “Election must hold,” set up canopies, blocked part of the road, and beat drums in defiance of security concerns.
The protest followed an early morning confrontation between the Rivers State governor and security forces.
The governor had rushed to the RSIEC premises after reports emerged that the Rivers State Police Command intended to take control of the office, a move seen by many as an attempt to disrupt the election set for Saturday.
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In an impassioned response, the governor vowed that the elections would not be derailed. “Keep your security, I do not need it. This election must hold on Saturday. The results will be declared, and the winners will be sworn in,” he said, recalling a similar situation in Anambra State.
Earlier on Friday, security operatives reportedly thwarted an attempt by individuals disguised in police uniforms to gain access to the RSIEC office. The intruders allegedly tried to break into the commission’s gates and strong room in a bid to seize sensitive electoral materials intended for the polls.
The pre-election atmosphere in Rivers State remains charged, with security concerns escalating as voters and officials prepare for Saturday’s local government elections.
Tensions escalated at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt on Thursday as protests broke out ahead of the upcoming Local Government elections, scheduled for October 5, 2024.
Large crowds of demonstrators gathered at the secretariat, prompting a heavy security presence to control the situation and manage the traffic disruption caused by the unrest.
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According to reports, the protests were fueled by concerns over the delayed release of the 2023 Voters’ Register by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
Protesters voiced frustration over the legal challenges that have complicated the electoral process just days before the election.
The situation intensified after a Federal High Court ruling on September 30, 2024, in which Justice Peter Lifu barred INEC from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC.
The court’s decision stemmed from ongoing legal disputes regarding the legitimacy of the election process.
Despite the legal roadblocks, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has insisted that the elections will proceed as planned.
Fubara, citing a prior Supreme Court ruling that mandates all Nigerian states must hold democratically elected local government elections, expressed confidence that the election will take place on schedule.
The delay in the release of the voters’ register has raised questions about the transparency and fairness of the upcoming election, intensifying political tensions in Rivers State.
Authorities are on high alert, working to ensure that the situation does not spiral further ahead of the scheduled election date.
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