The Labour Party Presents First Witness in Petition against APC, President Tinubu
During the ongoing petition between the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, the LP called its first witness on Tuesday.
Jibrin Okutepa, the counsel for the LP and Obi, submitted documents, including receipts, from numbers one to four. These documents demonstrate that the vice president, Kashim Shettima, accepted his nomination as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC. The witness, Lawrence Nwakaeti, a legal practitioner, revealed that he had provided a witness statement on March 20, 2023.
Part of Nwakaeti’s deposition referred to the alleged $460,000 forfeiture by Tinubu to the United States government. The LP and Obi are seeking to nullify Tinubu’s victory, claiming that he was not qualified to contest the election due to being fined $460,000 for an offense involving dishonesty, specifically narcotics trafficking. This fine was imposed by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483.
During cross-examination, the witness admitted that the judgment had not been registered in Nigeria. He also confirmed that there was no certificate from any consular office in Nigeria or America to support the judgment. The APC counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, asked if there was a certificate from the US consular, to which Nwakaeti replied that there was no such certificate.
The witness also stated that he had no knowledge of a Formal Clearance Report by the Legal Attaché from the American Embassy dated February 4, 2003, regarding the alleged indictment and forfeiture.
When Fagbemi requested a copy of the charges against Tinubu, the witness stated that he had none but maintained that the forfeitures were the result of civil proceedings.
The Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, has adjourned further hearing in the petition until May 31.
