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.
A Political Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Ibrahim Kabiru Masari, has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election, describing it as a joke.
Masari made the remark while addressing members of the Jigawa State Academics Forum.
SEE MORE: ‘A Nation Cannot Escape the Bill’ — Atiku Questions Tinubu’s Third UNGA Absence
According to him, Atiku’s political ambition would not be achieved through what he described as desperation, insisting that the former vice president was aware of the situation.
“Even Atiku himself knows he is just joking and kidding,” Masari said.
The presidential aide also described the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the dominant political party in the country and framed the 2027 election as a choice between continuing the Tinubu administration’s programmes and returning to the opposition.
Masari highlighted infrastructure development, economic diversification, security and poverty reduction as areas the Tinubu administration was prioritising.
He also commended the Jigawa State Academics Forum for endorsing President Tinubu and Governor Umar Namadi for another term.
On education, Masari said the Federal Government was giving the sector priority, adding that the university academic calendar had stabilised and students were benefiting from federal student loans.
His comments come as political parties and opposition figures intensify preparations for the 2027 general election.
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be questioned if there were any irregularities in the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
Sule made the remarks during an appearance on Mic On Podcast, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, an Arise TV anchor, while responding to questions about allegations surrounding the 2023 presidential election and INEC’s handling of the process.
The governor noted that INEC was the body that conducted and declared the election, saying: “INEC declared that I won the election in 2023. INEC that determined the election.”
SEE ALSO: 2027: Tinubu Has Done Enough Good To Win Re-Election — Gov Sule
Speaking about claims that both Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar believed they won the 2023 presidential election, Sule questioned how the APC could have manipulated the election against both candidates.
He said: “So who won the election between Peter Obi and Atiku? Take President Asiwaju out. So who now rigged each other between the PDP and then the Labour Party? Because you are saying that Peter Obi said he won, Atiku said he won—”
On concerns over glitches on INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal during the presidential election and allegations that “something fishy” may have happened, Sule said INEC should provide answers if there were any irregularities.
He stated: “Well, if something fishy went down, it is INEC herself that would be asked that question.”
Sule also referred to subsequent elections conducted under the current INEC leadership, including the Osun and Anambra governorship elections.
According to him, APC lost the Osun election without similar complaints, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won in Anambra.
He said: “You know, and so far, all the elections… he held the election in Osun, and they didn’t say there was anything wrong with that one, because APC lost. We had an election in Anambra, there was no problem about that one, because APGA won.”
“You know, so it is anywhere APC won now that there is a problem. It doesn’t… life doesn’t work that way.” the governor added.
Human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take preventive measures to protect former Anambra State governor and 2027 presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Ejiofor raised concerns over Obi’s safety ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that any harm to the presidential candidate could have serious consequences for Nigeria’s political and democratic environment.
READ MORE: 2027: Peter Obi ‘Unfit’ To Govern Nigeria — Onanuga Declares
In a statement issued in Abuja, Ejiofor said Obi’s recent expression of concern about his personal safety should not be dismissed as ordinary political rhetoric.
He said when a presidential candidate publicly expresses uncertainty about his safety ahead of an election, the appropriate response should be “vigilance, sober inquiry and preventive action.”
“Nothing must happen to Obi,” Ejiofor said, calling on Tinubu to act now to protect the former Anambra governor and the democratic space.
The lawyer also cited recent developments surrounding the 2027 political season, including Obi’s complaints about difficulties faced by opposition politicians campaigning in some states and the controversy surrounding the obstruction of his convoy during a visit to Benue State.
According to Ejiofor, the circumstances require greater attention from government institutions, security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders.
He warned that if anything happened to Obi, the consequences could extend beyond the individual and potentially affect Nigeria’s already delicate electoral environment.
“If anything should happen to Peter Obi—God forbid!—the consequences would extend far beyond the individual concerned,” he said, describing the possible consequences as “disastrous and devastating.”
Ejiofor urged the Federal Government, security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties and state authorities to ensure that presidential candidates can campaign peacefully and that voters can freely hear competing political views.
He also called for political disagreements to be settled through the ballot and the law rather than intimidation, coercion or violence.
“Prevention is wiser than mourning,” Ejiofor said, stressing that Nigeria should not wait for a tragedy before taking steps to address concerns surrounding the 2027 political environment.
He further appealed for an electoral atmosphere where every legitimate contestant can campaign, political parties can organise peacefully and citizens can freely listen to and support candidates of their choice.
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