Tribunal: Peter Obi, Atiku’s Allegations Against Tinubu Are Criminal In Nature

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that some of the allegations made by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, against President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal are of a criminal nature.

Obi and Atiku have approached the Tribunal to challenge the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25th presidential election.

EDITOR’S PICKS

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the APC asserted that both candidates failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate their allegations of electoral rigging in favor of Tinubu. The party further criticized the evidence presented by Obi and the Labour Party, deeming it minuscule and lacking in credibility.

The APC’s legal team, led by Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, argued in their final brief of argument filed at the court that Atiku and the PDP were not entitled to the reliefs they sought in their petition. The party contended that the petitioners merely dumped documents in court and claimed that these documents were sufficient evidence to support their allegations.

The APC emphasized that the petitioners did not adequately link the documents to specific allegations made against Tinubu’s victory. The party argued that merely identifying exhibits without demonstrating their relevance through witness testimonies rendered the documents lacking in probative value.

According to the APC, the petitioners’ allegations of election rigging were not tied to specific polling units in the local government areas of the states they challenged in the petition. The law, the party asserted, required these allegations to be proved with cogent, credible, and reliable evidence.

Regarding the educational qualification of the president, the APC maintained that the exhibits tendered in court proved his attendance and graduation with honors from Chicago State University in the United States. The party contended that the petitioners failed to produce the genuine certificate from which the alleged forged certificate was made.

On the alleged forfeiture of $460,000 following Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a drug-related case, the APC stated that there was no evidence of any criminal proceedings, conviction, or fine against him. The party argued that Tinubu’s possession of a Guinean Passport did not disqualify him from contesting or nullify his election, as he was a bona fide Nigerian citizen by birth.

The APC dismissed the petitioners’ claim that Tinubu did not secure 25% of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during the presidential election, asserting that the FCT did not enjoy a special status as a state and, therefore, voters there did not have the power to singularly impact the election outcome.

Click to watch our video of the week