Adejoke Adebiyi
President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have completed their defence in the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The counsel for Tinubu and Shettima, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, informed the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that they were closing their case following the testimony of their sole witness.
The counsel for the APC, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, also informed the court that they did not have any witness and relied on the witnesses called by other respondents.
After the conclusion of their defence, Justice Haruna Tsammani, presiding over the five-member panel, stated that the date for the final written addresses would be communicated.
Justice Tsammani assigned ten days to the respondents, seven days to the petitioners, and five days for the reply.
Earlier, Tinubu’s counsel presented several documents as evidence to support their defence. These included a letter from the Nigeria Police to the United States Embassy, dated February 3, 2003, and a letter from the United States Embassy to the Nigeria Police, dated February 4, 2003.
Additionally, documents such as US visas and immigration records from 2011 to 2021, a certified copy of the Report of the Committee on the Location of the Federal Capital of Nigeria, issued by the Archives and History Bureau of the FCT, were also tendered.
Furthermore, copies of Form EC 8D for Kano State pertaining to the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Form EC 8D(A), and Form EC 8D in relation to the presidential election were submitted.
The membership register of the Labour Party and the membership list of LP for Anambra State were also tendered and admitted as evidence to establish that Obi was not a member of the Labour Party.
Following the presentation of documents, Olanipekun called their sole witness, Senate Majority Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, to provide testimony.
During cross-examination by Fagbemi, the witness informed the court that the APC recorded a shortfall of 10,292 votes in the February 25 presidential election in Kano State compared to Tinubu’s expected results.
The witness further stated that Obi’s name was not included in the membership list of the LP submitted to INEC.
When cross-examined by Obi’s counsel, Dr Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, the witness acknowledged the existence of a report by EU election observers in Nigeria, which was presented as evidence through him.
Regarding the letter from the United States Embassy to the Nigeria Police, dated February 4, 2003, and its relevance to the criminal allegations against Tinubu, the witness explained that the Nigerian police letter requested a search for general criminal records involving Tinubu.
Consequently, the US letter, which cleared Tinubu of any criminal convictions, was an appropriate response.
The counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN,stated that they had no further cross-examination.
Obi and the Labour Party are the petitioners in the case labeled CA/PEPC/03/2023, challenging the election that brought President Tinubu into power.
The respondents include INEC, Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC.
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