…By Joseph Benjamin for TDPel Media.
President Bola Tinubu, in the ongoing suit challenging his victory, called upon Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the Majority Leader of the Senate, as his first witness before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
The suit was filed by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi.
Identification and Adoption of Documents
Under the guidance of his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Tinubu requested Senator Bamidele to identify the documents presented to the court.
A total of 18 documents were submitted by Tinubu in defense of the suit, which contests the outcome of the February 25 election where Tinubu was declared the winner.
Contents of the Documents
The documents presented included a letter from former Inspector General of Police, Tarfa Balogun, addressed to the US Embassy in Nigeria and dated February 3, 2003.
Additionally, there was a letter from the US Embassy itself, dated February 4, 2003.
A bundle of Tinubu’s educational records from Chicago State University, certified by Jamar C. Orr, Associate General Counsel at the Office of Legal Affairs, Chicago State University, was also included.
Other documents comprised data pages of Tinubu’s international passport, displaying his travels to the US from 2011 to 2023.
Moreover, the submission included the Labour Party’s forwarding letter for membership registration, dated April 25, 2022, as well as LP’s register of members for Anambra State.
The report of the Committee On The Location of the FCT and Historical Bureau was also part of the evidence presented.
Additional Documents and Exhibits
Tinubu additionally tendered a copy of form EC8D for Kano State, regarding the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.
An acknowledgement copy of Vice President Shettima’s voluntary withdrawal of candidacy from the Borno Central Senatorial District election, dated July 6, 2022, was also included.
The judgment of the Supreme Court in SC/CV/501/2023, involving PDP vs. INEC and three others and delivered on May 26, 2023, formed part of the evidence.
Furthermore, copies of page 28 and page 27 of the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper, both from February 23, 2023, were submitted.
Objection and Admission of Documents
Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), the lawyer representing the Labour Party, objected to the admissibility of the documents.
However, the court overruled the objection and admitted the documents as Exhibits RA17 and RA18, marking them for reference in the proceedings.