Says $460,000 Forfeiture Not Evidence Of Conviction Against Tinubu

LP Rejects Judgment, Says Justice Not Served

THE presidential election petition tribunal, on Wednesday, September 7, in Abuja, ruled a candidate does not need to score 25 per cent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to win presidential the election in the country.

In its the lead judgment in the petition filed by Peter Obi and his Labour Party (LP), Chairman of the five-man panel of Justices, Justice Haruna Tsammani, said scoring 25 per cent was not constitutionally required and that the petitioners’ interpretation of Section 134  (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was based on a fixation of the word “and,” which is completely fallacious, if not outrightly ridiculous.

Justice Tsammani held that there was equality of rights, irrespective of which part of the country voters preferred to live in, adding: “Every citizen must have equality of rights and this includes votes.

“The futility and hollowness in the arguments of the petitioners that the votes of the voters in the FCT have more weight than others in other parts of the country, to the extent that their votes purportedly have a greater effect on other votes, is null and void.”  

The tribunal held that the votes of voters in the FCT were equal to every other voters in the states in Nigeria; hence Abuja had no special status.

Obi and LP argued that winning 25 per cent  of votes in the FCT, in addition to meeting other requirements, was necessary for a candidate to be declared winner in a presidential election.

On the $460,000 forfeiture saga involving Tinubu, the tribunal held that Obi and LP failed to provide proof of a criminal conviction against the President.

The petitioners had prayed the court to nullify Tinubu’s election on the grounds that there was a $460, 000 forfeiture order against him by a United States (US) District Court in Illinois.

But Justice Tsammani, in the lead judgment, held that Obi and his party also failed to substantiate allegations of drugs and fraud allegations against Tinubu, saying they failed to prove that Tinubu was found guilty of any offence involving any act of criminality.

It held  that the evidence before it showed that the forfeiture order against Tinubu was in a civil matter and not criminal matter, noting there was no evidence to show that the President was either arraigned or convicted in the US over any alleged crime to warrant his disqualification.

The tribunal stated that the documents tendered by the respondents confirmed that Tinubu was given a clean bill of health upon an enquiry from Nigeria, insisting: “The order of forfeiture in exhibit P5 on which the petitioners have relied does not qualify as a sentence or fine or criminal conviction.”

It held that Section 269 (1&2) provides that such documents must be given under the hand of a Police official and must be accompanied with a certificate showing that the Police officer has powers to sign such documents, adding that even if Tinubu was convicted for the alleged crime, for him to be disqualified from the election, the purported conviction must have taken place within 10 years to the election, as against the forfeiture order that was made nearly 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, LP has rejected the judgment. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said it was unacceptable, adding: “The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation, the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety, because justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned, but the tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.

“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people’s will prevail. We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the rot in our system.

We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria, but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.

“Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after we get the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment.

“We urge all lovers of democracy to remain focused and hopeful because a new Nigeria is possible.”