In a significant development in the ongoing presidential election petitions, the court has admitted certified copies of the academic and work records of President Bola Tinubu.
These documents were tendered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The documents, which were submitted as evidence, include a B.Sc. certificate from Chicago State University, an NYSC Discharge Certificate, and a Mobil Nigeria Oil Plc certificate of service.
The PDP presented these documents through their subpoenaed witness, Mike Enahoro-Ebah, a private legal practitioner.
During the proceedings, Enahoro-Ebah pointed out that the documents were supposedly obtained by Tinubu but carried the name ‘Bola Adekunle Tinubu.’
The witness, led in evidence by the lead Counsel to the PDP, Chris Uche, also submitted the EC13 and EC9 nomination forms, along with the letters written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as attachments.
Although objections were raised by all the respondents against the admissibility of the documents, the court ultimately admitted them as evidence in the case.
Enahoro-Ebah provided a detailed list of the referenced documents, which included
(1) certified true copies of form EC9(Nomination letter of Tinubu).
(2) receipt of payment for certification.
(3) witness application letter, requesting the documents.
(4) INEC’s Letter of response.
(5) Certificate from Chicago University belonging to the 2nd respondent( Tinubu).
(6)NYSC discharge certificate belonging to the 2nd respondent, with the name Tinubu Bola Adekunle.
(7) Certificate of service from Mobile Oil Nigeria PLC.
(8)Party Membership card.
During the submission of the documents by the lead counsel to the PDP, objections were raised by all the respondents regarding their admissibility.
Enahoro-Ebah also presented academic records from Chicago State University, including a copy of the subpoena served on the university, the original academic records and degree certificate, an original admission letter, and an original transcript from Southwest College to the university Tinubu attended. Notably, the transcript referred to Tinubu as female.
Additionally, the witness submitted a notarized judgment from the USA regarding the criminal forfeiture of Tinubu’s assets, along with the cover note authorizing it. Furthermore, extracts from a Guinea passport and Tinubu’s certificate of compliance were also presented.
In a separate submission, the PDP presented certified true copies of forms EC8A from various local government areas (LGAs) in several states.
These included 25 LGAs in Delta state, 13 LGAs in Ebonyi state, 18 LGAs in Edo state, 17 LGAs in Enugu state, 27 LGAs in Imo state, and 21 LGAs in Kogi state.
The admission of these documents marks a significant development in the ongoing presidential election petitions, as they provide additional evidence and information regarding President Bola Tinubu’s academic and work history. The court will now carefully examine the contents of these records to determine their relevance and impact on the case.
Comments are closed.