Mohammed Shosanya
The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja has admitted the Chicago State University educational credentials of President Bola Tinubu in evidence.
The documents are part of exhibits being relied upon by Tinubu to defend allegations of electoral fraud, non qualification and certificate forgery made against him by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, ahead the February 25, presidential election.
Tinubu, who formally opened his defense in a petition filed against his election by Atiku,
presented the credentials and other documents to the PEPC on Tuesday, through his lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
The educational credentials tendered in evidence by Tinubu was to prove his attendance and graduation at the Chicago State University included the admission letter.
Also tendered before the PEPC, was his US visa documents which indicated that he severally visited the United States of America unhindered between 2011 and 2021.
Besides,Tinubu tendered all documents of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) which cleared him for the US trips.
The Uinted State of America’s Embassy letter of April 4, 2003, which was a response to a letter of the Nigerian Police dated February 3, 2003, which claimed that the Embassy had no criminal records of Tinubu in the USA, was further submitted to the Tribunal
The court further admitted an originating summon of a suit filed at the Supreme Court by the Attorneys General of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto States challenging the educational background of Tinubu to stand for the 2023 presidential election.
The petitioners opposed admissibility of all the documents,but Chairman of the PEPC, Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted them in evidence.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (1st respondent) and the All Progressives Congress (3rd respondent) in the petition, did not object to admission of all the documents.
The court fixed further hearing in the petition for July 5.
Tinubu will on Wednesday, July 5, open his defence in the petition filed against his election victory by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
His decision to begin defense followed INEC’S dramatic decision on Tuesday to terminate its own defence in Obi’s petition after calling one witness and tendering four documents.
INEC had during the pre hearing session informed the PEPC that it would need three days to call three witnesses.
But on Tuesday, INEC’s lead counsel, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) suddenly announced the closure of INEC’s defense.
Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) informed the PEPC that he is ready to begin Tinubu’s defence on July 5 with his witnesses and documents.
At the Tuesday’s hearing, a witness called by INEC, Dr Lawrence Bayode admitted that the BVAS machines used by the electoral body suffered glitches during the presidential election but maintained that the glitches did not in any way affect conduct of the election, collation of results and declaration of final results.
