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Category: Politics Lite

  • TRIBUNAL: Tinubu tenders 18 exhibits against Obi, LP

    President Bola Tinubu and his Deputy, Kashim Shettima on Wednesday at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), tendered 18 Exhibits to establish their requisite qualifications for the 2023 Presidential Election.

    Obi and Labour Party are seeking nullification of Tinubu’s election on the ground of not having requisite educational qualifications, conviction for drug-related offences by a US Court among others.

    However, at the proceeding, Wednesday, while Tinubu presented his records at the Chicago State University to the Court, Shetima tendered his letter of withdrawal from Borno South Senatorial race upon been picked to be Vice Presidential candidate.

    He also tendered a letter of February 3, 2003 signed by a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tafa Balogun requesting for the criminal records of Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the Embassy of the United States of America USA in Nigeria.

    At the Wednesday’s proceedings where they opened their defense in a joint petition of the  LP and  Obi, Tinubu tendered another letter from the US Embassy which in response to Police letter, claimed not having any criminal records of Tinubu.

    While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress APC did not object to tendering and admitting the documents as exhibits, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku vehemently kicked against admission of the documents.

    However, in spite of the vehement objection by PDP and Atiku, the Court admitted the documents as exhibits to be used to determine whether the President actually attended the Chicago State University and to as determine whether he was convicted in the United States of America USA for any drug offences as alleged by Obi and his party.

    Similar exhibits had on Tuesday been admitted by the same Court but in a different petition of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and PDP who are also asking the Court to kick out Tinubu from the Presidency on the same grounds.

  • Tribunal: Rhodes-Vivour closes case against Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat

    The Lagos State Labour Party governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has closed his case against the victory of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the March 18 governorship election before the election tribunal sitting in Ikeja.

    The Labour Party governorship candidate is also challenging the eligibility of Hazmat to contest on the grounds that he allegedly renounced his Nigerian citizenship and swore allegiance to the United States of America.

    At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the petitioner’s counsel, Mr Idowu Benson, informed the three-justice tribunal headed by Arum Ashom that the petitioner was closing his case.

    Ten witnesses had testified in the petition of the LP candidate.

    The counsel also tendered a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the INEC Form EC9 – an affidavit containing the particulars of a candidate – which was hand-filled by Hamzat and had been front-loaded by the counsel for the fourth respondent, All Progressives Congress (APC), before the tribunal.

    All the counsel for the four respondents objected to the admissibility of the document tendered by the petitioner.

    The tribunal, however, admitted the document into evidence and marked it as Exhibit PE713.

    The APC counsel, Mr Noris Quakers (SAN), said the CTC tendered by the petitioner was warehoused by the first respondent and did not form a part of the court records.

    “It is not a document before this tribunal.

    “It is only a document signed by the Independent National Electoral Commission that can be tendered.

    “We will further argue on why this document should not be admitted in the final written address,” he said.

    The INEC counsel, Mr Eric Obigor, informed the tribunal that he would pick a date to open their defence while commending the petitioner for closing his case.

    The tribunal ordered that the first respondent should open his case on the next adjourned date but he prayed the court for more time to put his house in order.

    “We will be taking a date to open our case and commend the petitioner for closing its case even though it was unexpected.

    “At the moment, for me to secure the attendance of my witness, I can not get them by tomorrow.

    “I will need to do consultations with the stakeholders of my client.

    “A day will enable me to put my house in order,” Obigor said.

    Counsel to Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat, Mr Bode Olanipekun (SAN), also commended the petitioner for closing its case while stating that they should have taken the wise retreat earlier.

    The proceedings were stalled on Monday due to the health reasons of an LP witness.

    The tribunal had on Monday adjourned the proceedings due to the ill-health of a witness scheduled to testify in favour of Rhodes-Vivour.

    Benson had mentioned that the witness was in court but had to leave for treatment before proceedings commenced.

    The tribunal adjourned until July 5 for INEC to open its defence. 

  • Tribunal: Tinubu presents Chicago varsity record, US visa, others as exhibits

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has tendered as evidence, his Chicago State University educational documents and the United States of America visa at the Presidential Election Petition Court on Tuesday.

    The court admitted the documents, and admission letter offered by the university as exhibits as the Respondent formally opened his defense in a petition filed against his election by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku.

    Tinubu also tendered his US Visa documents between 2011 to 2021, which indicated that he severally visited the United States of America (USA) unhindered, as against the petition that he was wanted by the country.

    Counsel to Tinubu, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, also made available to the Court all documents of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) which cleared him for the US trips.

    Also admitted as exhibits by the Court is the United States of America’s Embassy letter of April 4, 2003, which is a response to a letter from the Nigerian Police dated February 3, 2003, which claimed that the Embassy had no criminal records of Tinubu in the USA.

    The documents were admitted amidst objections against their admissibility by Atiku and his party.

    Apart from the educational documents, the Court further admitted an originating summons 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 Tinubu to stand for the 2023 presidential election.

    The matter continues on July 5.

  • INEC dramatically ends defence against Obi, LP with one witness 

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday dramatically terminated its own defence in Peter Obi’s petition against them, after calling one witness and tendering four documents.

    INEC had through its counsel Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, suddenly announced the closure of its defense, calling one witness against the three registered with the Presidential Election Petition Court at the pre-hearing section.

    In his evidence-in-chief, the witness, Dr Lawrence Bayode, admitted that INEC suffered glitches during the presidential election but maintained that the glitches did not in any way affect the conduct of the election, collation of results, and declaration of final results.

    On the allegations of blurred result sheets on INEC’S portal, the Deputy Director of Information and Communication said that clear result sheets can still be obtained on request by those in need of them.

    Sequel to INEC’s closing of its defence, Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, told the Court that his client is fully ready to kick-start his defence against Mr. Peter Obi and the Labour Party on July 5.

    Olanipekun maintained that Tinubu is ready with his witnesses and documents to justify his victory in the presidential election. Meanwhile, further hearing in the petition has been shifted to July 5 by the Court.

  • Court nullifies Nnamani’s expulsion from PDP

    The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has nullified the expulsion of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    The court described the action of the party as null and void, adding that the party lacks the power to expel him over alleged anti-party activities.

    Senator Nnamani was before Justice J.K. Omotosho challenging his expulsion from the party by the erstwhile National Chairman of the PDP Dr Iyorchia Ayu led National Working Committee (NWC).

    In the judgment, the court held that the plaintiff was not given a fair hearing, besides the fact that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) and not the NWC have the power to discipline a member of the National Assembly.

    Justice Omotosho held that the NWC cannot validly conduct a disciplinary hearing without according to the plaintiff’s fair hearing, adding that “the NWC cannot validly conduct a hearing and reaching a valid decision of suspending or expelling the plaintiff from membership of the PDP”.

    However, the court noted that the NEC has the power after having given the plaintiff opportunity to be heard, insisting “The decision suspending the plaintiff is null and void. The decision expelling the plaintiff is nullified and set aside.”

    Therefore, the court restrained PDP from acting upon the said invalid suspension and expulsion of the plaintiff.

  • INEC closes defence in Atiku’s petition with one witness

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) called one witness that testified in the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

    At the resumed proceeding on Monday, INEC tendered four documentary exhibits in evidence, which include a letter dated July 6, 2022, which the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, wrote to notify it of his decision to withdraw as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Borno Central Senatorial election.

    Led in evidence by INEC’s lead counsel, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, the witness, Mr. Lawrence Bayode, who is a Deputy Director of ICT at the Commission, tendered the letter and its accompanying certification, which was admitted in evidence and marked as Exhibits RA-1 and RA-2.

    Under cross-examination by counsel to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Olanipekun, SAN, the witness, insisted that the presidential election held on February 25, was “free, fair, credible and conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.”

    The witness also told counsel to APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the witness said that the technical glitch that was experienced on Election Day did not affect the actual scores of all the presidential candidates, which he said remained intact.

    He further told the court that the results of the presidential election were not electronically collated, saying it was done manually.

    “INEC does not have an electronic collation system,” he insisted, adding that INEC had few days to the presidential poll, and announced that electronic transmission of results of the election would not be feasible.

    However, while being cross-examined by counsel to the Petitioners, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the witness, told the court that the European Union, EU, Observation Mission was accredited by INEC to monitor the 2023 general elections.

    On if he was aware that the EU has released its final report on the election, the witness, said: “Yes I am aware, but I have not seen it.”

    When he was shown a certified copy of the EU’s report and asked to read from a portion of it, the Respondents raised objections.

    Though they opposed the admissibility of the report as part of the proof of evidence in the case, Justice Haruna Tsammani-led’s five-member panel of the court admitted it in evidence as Exhibit RA-6.

    The witness, read a paragraph in the report where the EU stated that 2023 was not “a transparent and inclusive election” as promised by the INEC.

    He also read a portion of the report that stated that “only 31% of results uploaded in I-REV was formally or mathematically correct.”

    However, he maintained that technological innovations that INEC introduced into the electoral process were to guarantee transparency and integrity of the results.

    Also, the lead counsel to Tinubu, informed the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, its readiness to open his defence to petitions seeking to nullify his client’s election, on Tuesday.

    Tribunal admits EU final report, faulting Tinubu’s election.

    The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) Monday, admitted as exhibit, the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission, which faulted the conduct and outcome of the 2023 presidential election that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and others.

    The report tendered by the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar was admitted as exhibit in spite of vehement objections by President Bola Tinubu, All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In the report, the EU election observer mission claimed that the presidential election did not show credibility, fairness, and transparency in the ways and manners it was conducted by INEC.

    The report tendered through INEC’s sole witness and Director of Information Technology (IT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode said only 31 percent of the presidential election result was uploaded into INEC’s result viewing portal.

    Before the admission of the report, Atiku through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN had applied that cross-examination of the INEC’S witness must be kick-started by Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress APC in view of their common interests against Atiku’s petition.

    The application was however bluntly opposed by Tinubu and APC through their lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, and Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN respectfully.

    However, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel admitted it as evidence.

  • Presidential Tribunal: INEC opens defence without any witness

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday failed to present any of its three witnesses to open their defence against the Labour Party and its Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPEC).

    According to the pre-hearing report schedule, the electoral body was to open defence on the 3rd of July, after the Prosecutions closed their case. 

    Its lead counsel and former President of the Nigeria Bar Association NBA, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmood SAN, informed the Court of his plan to call three witnesses to counter the allegations of the Labour Party LP and its Presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi.

    He however lamented that none of the witnesses was in court due to domestic reasons for him to open the defence.

    The senior lawyer pleaded with the Court to bear with him and applied for an adjournment of his defence.

    However, lead counsel to Peter Obi, Dr Livy Uzoukwu SAN, expressed shock and surprise by the conduct of the electoral body.

    He told the court that the INEC lawyer ought to have taken him into confidence before the commencement of the proceedings.

    However, Counsel to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN and Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN who represented the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not object to the request for adjournment of INEC’S plea for the case to be shifted.

    Consequently, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani adjourned the Court till Tuesday July 4. 

  • S/Court asked to stop Tinubu’s ‘unrestrained’ access to state Treasury

    A flagbearer of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 presidential election, Ambrose Albert Owuru, has filed a motion at the Supreme Court, seeking an order of interlocutory injunction against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Owuru is seeking the leave of the court to stop Tinubu from engaging in unrestrained access to the state treasury, unapproved and unauthorised senate appointments and projects pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

    He also prayed the apex court for “an order directing in the circumstances, the constitution of convergent political leaders and interest to run the affairs of the country pending the determination of the cases in court to protect and preserve the nation interest, properties and investment and ensure good governance.”

    The United Kingdom-trained lawyer, in a statement signed on his behalf by Alhaji Anwal Ibrahim, noted that “the handover of power on the 29th of May 2023 in the circumstances, apart from been an intra-party turn by turn arrangement designed to suppress and continue the usurpation of the mandate of the adjudged constitutional winner of the 2019 presidential election, constitutes also veggies on unconstitutional seizure of power contrary to the provisions of S. 1(3) of the 1999 constitution, as 2023 election return and the constitutionally stipulated eligibility of the returned candidate of APC, is yet to be certified by the court in the face of revealing challenges at the election court.”

    Owuru has pursued his case up to the Apex court, alleging that he was the constitutional winner of the 2019 election but was denied mandate by the electoral empire.

  • Tribunal kicks out application questioning Mbah’s credentials

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu has dismissed an application by the Labour Party candidate, Mr. Chijioke Edoga which sought to interrogate Governor Peter Mbah about his credentials.

    The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice M. K Akano, had on Thursday reserved ruling after the counsels to the parties argued for and against the granting of the application.

    Delivering ruling in the application, on Saturday, the Chairman held that the application was on a “fishing expedition”.

    Adopting the argument of the counsel to the People Democratic Party, Tochukwu Maduka, Akano said that the questions the petitioners were asking were not contained in their petition.

    The chairman also adopted the argument made by Mr Ikechukwu Onuoma, counsel to Gov. Mbah, that the application was an attempt for the petitioners to amend their petition based on paragraph 14(1) of the first schedule of the electoral Act.

    She said that the essence of interrogatories was to get admission from parties on the matter that had been pleaded to, adding that the petitioner had not pleaded to the matter.

    Meanwhile, the report of the tribunal on the pre hearing session was delivered alongside the ruling. The tribunal outlined the issues raised by both parties.

    In the tribunal resolution, the Chairman granted the petitioner seven days to prove their case while INEC was granted two days to call its witnesses.

    Also, the second and third respondents were granted four days to also call their witnesses

    On the sideline, the counsel to the LP, Mr Ifeanyi Ogenyi, told newsmen that the rulling was in respect of the application for interrogatories by the petitioner.

    The petitioner was seeking for answers to Mbah’s appointments as Chief of Staff, commissioner for finance, when he was called to the Nigeria Bar and institutions he attended.

    “Based on Mbah’s reply to the petition, the court in its considered ruling said that those questions could be elicited during cross examination or through the petitioner during evidence,” he said. 

  • Tribunal: Atiku closes case against Tinubu with 27 witnesses

    Tribunal: Atiku closes case against Tinubu with 27 witnesses

    *INEC opens defence July 3

    Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has closed his case before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), after calling 27 witnesses to testify against the emergence of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

    Atiku, who called 27 witnesses as against 100 witnesses registered in the pre-hearing report also tendered several documentary evidence as exhibits before the court.

    Earlier, Atiku’s subpoenaed star witness, who happened to be the last witness, Mr. Mike Enahoro-Ebah, testified before the court. 

    Sequel to his discharged from the witness box, counsel to the Petitioners, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, informed the court that the Petitioners is closing its case with the witness.

    Uche said his decision to close his case was in view of the fact that he had exhausted the days that were allocated for him to present his case against Tinubu, in line with the pre-hearing report.

    “My lords, at this point in time, may we humbly inform the court that this will be our last witness, having exhausted the days allocated to us, pursuant to the pre-hearing report and Paragraph 46(5) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2022. 

    “We most humbly apply to formally close the case for the petitioners.

    “We thank you for the indulgence and opportunity given to us to present our case” Uche submitted.

    Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, told the court that all the parties earlier met and agreed to commence the opening of defence by the Respondents till after the Sallah celebration.

    Aligning with the electoral body, counsel to Tinubu, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, pleaded with the court to allow the Respondents open their defence from Monday, July 3.

    Olanipekun informed the court that the Respondents came to agree with the date considering the fact that some of them will be traveling with family and friends for Sallah celebration.

    “My lords, all of us took into consideration that some of us will love to travel to celebrate with our families and loved ones.

    “Moreover, there is likely to be a two days public holidays next week. We will therefore plead your lordships to adjourn the case till after the Salah celebration.

    “When we return from the holiday, we will be refreshed and ready.”

    Responding, Counsel to the Petitioners, Chris Uche, said, “In the spirit of cooperation, we have agreed for Respondents to commenced their defence or the date agreed.

    Consequently, the Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned the case till July 3 for INEC to open its defence to the petition.