In a significant development, the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja admitted the academic records of President Bola Tinubu from Chicago State University, along with various other documents, as exhibits on Tuesday.
The documents were tendered before the tribunal by Tinubu’s legal team led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN). The move came in response to the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.
The tribunal had previously directed Tinubu to open his defense, and he complied with the directive on Tuesday.
During the proceedings, Olanipekun also presented Tinubu’s US visa as evidence. In addition to the academic records from Chicago State University, the documents submitted by Olanipekun included a letter of admission issued to Tinubu by the institution.
Furthermore, documents from the Nigeria Immigration Service were tendered, indicating that Tinubu had been cleared for unrestricted travel to the US between 2011 and 2021.
Another notable exhibit admitted by the court was a letter from the US Embassy dated April 4, 2003, addressed to the Nigeria Police, which confirmed the absence of any criminal records for Tinubu in the United States.
Apart from the educational documents, Tinubu’s legal team also submitted newspaper publications related to multiple lawsuits filed against him by various groups.
In a separate development, the court accepted an Originating Summons of a suit filed at the Supreme Court by the Attorneys General of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, and Sokoto states. The suit challenges Tinubu’s eligibility to stand as a candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
Presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani, the court adjourned further proceedings until Wednesday (today). It is expected that Tinubu and his vice-presidential candidate, Kassim Shetima, will commence their defense in the petition filed by Peter Obi of the Labour Party on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) began and concluded its defense in the petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi. The petition specifically questioned the credibility of the February 25 presidential poll.
During Tuesday’s session, INEC’s counsel, A.B. Mahmoud (SAN), called Lawrence Bayode, an assistant director in charge of the ICT department, as their first witness. Bayode’s testimony was intended to support the commission’s defense against the PDP and Atiku’s petition.
The tribunal adjourned until Wednesday for Tinubu and his vice-presidential candidate, Kassim Shetima, to present their defense in Obi’s petition.
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