Election Petition Court: Obi, LP Presents One Witness As Hearing Begins

By Salihu Ali, Abuja

On May 30, 2023

As the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja Nigeria’s capital begins full hearing, one of the Petitioners, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party Mr Peter Obi and his party have presented one witness to testify in court.

This is out of the fifty witnesses Obi and Labour Party promised to bring to the court.

Obi and LP are challenging the outcome of the 2023 Presidential election that produced President Bola Tinubu as the President and Kashim Shetima as vice.

The Court on Tuesday in Abuja admitted in evidence, a United States of America (USA) District Court judgment which reportedly indicted President Ahmed Tinubu and ordered his forfeiture of $460,000 in drug-related offences

The certified true copy of the judgment was tendered by a witness, Barrister Lawrence Uchechukwu at the commencement of the hearing of a petition filed by the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Mr Peter Gregory Obi against the election of Tinubu.

Led in evidence by Mr Jibrin Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, the witness tendered the Court’s judgment as part of requests by Obi and the Labour Party to get Tinubu’s declaration as winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election nullified and set aside.

However, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced that they have objections against the admission of the judgment but reserved the objections to the final address stage.

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party Mr Peter Obi and his vice Datti Baba-Ahmed in court

Under cross-examination by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN who stood for President Tinubu, the witness admitted that the judgment was not registered in Nigeria.

The Anambra based legal practitioner who was Obi’s first witness also admitted that there was no certificate from any Consular in Nigeria or America in support of the judgment but insisted that “the judgment speaks for itself”.

He claimed to have been to the United States of America and read the judgment in its entirety adding that he would be surprised if no mention was made of $460,000 forfeiture.

Also under cross-examination by counsel to the APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, the witness said that the American Court judgment had no certificate given under the hand of any American Police Officer.

He denied knowledge of a February 4, 2003 Formal Clearance Report by Legal Attachee from the American Embassy in respect of the alleged indictment and forfeiture.

When asked by Fagbemi SAN to produce a copy of the charges against Tinubu, the witness admitted not having any but maintained that the indictment and forfeiture are from civil proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani has shifted further hearing in the petition till May 31.

Emmanuel Ukoh