President Tinubu Formally Opens Defense Against Atiku’s Petition Challenging His Victory

Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu has on Tuesday opened his defense against the petition by Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP Atiku Abubakar who is challenging his victory on the February 25 Presidential Election.

Tinubu through his lead counsel, Mr. Wole Olanipekun SAN, tendered as exhibits his US Visa documents which indicated that Tinubu severally visited the United States of America, USA unhindered between 2011 and 2021.

Tinubu who tendered the documents to debunk allegations of criminality contained in the petition against him also made available to the Court all documents of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS which cleared him for the US trips.

The Chicago State University educational documents of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were also tendered to the Presidential Election Petition Court PEPC in Abuja for defense.

The educational documents were tendered to establish Tinubu’s attendance and graduation at the American University.

The five man panel of judges led by justice Haruna Simon Tsamani, admitted the documents as exhibits.

Also admitted as exhibits by the Court are the United State of America’s Embassy letter of April 4, 2003 which is 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 United States.

The documents were admitted inspite of rigorous objections against their respective admissibility by PDP and the former Vice President.

However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the All Progressives Congress, APC who are 1st and 3rd respondents in the petition did not object to admission of all the documents.

Apart from the educational documents, the Court further admitted an originating simmons of a suit instituted at the Supreme Court by the Attorneys General of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto States challenging the educational background of President Tinubu to stand for the 2023 presidential election.

Also, newspaper publications from THE SUN, PUNCH, TRIBUNE, and THE NATION Newspapers on several suits filed against Tinubu by several groups were tendered and admitted as exhibits.

After admitting the documents as exhibits the court adjourned for further hearing in the petition to July 5.

Confidence Okwuchi