President Bola Tinubu began defending his mandate yesterday before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC). In response to the joint petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abubakar, President Tinubu presented bundles of documents, including his academic records from Chicago State University, certified true copies of immigration documents, and evidence of his visits to the United States between 2011 and 2021.
The educational documents provided by President Tinubu included his admission letter and graduation records from the American University. Additionally, he submitted a letter from the Nigerian Police Force to the US Embassy requesting his criminal records, which was met with a response stating that there were no criminal records against him.
To refute the allegations of criminality made in the petition, President Tinubu also presented all relevant documents from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) regarding his trips to the US. Furthermore, he submitted a report from the Committee on the relocation of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), along with the accompanying receipt of payment.
The court accepted the INEC Forms EC8(A) and Forms EC8D(A) from Kano state as evidence. These forms record the polling unit results and provide a summary of the results from the state, respectively.
Additionally, the court admitted the originating summons in suit no SC/CV/345/2023, filed by the Attorney General of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, and Sokoto States at the Supreme Court. Although these states had initially challenged the presidential election results in their respective regions, they later withdrew the suit.
Despite objections from the PDP and the former vice president, the court accepted all the presented documents as evidence. President Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, informed the court of his intention to commence oral evidence today.
The proceedings for the petition will continue today, with further hearings scheduled.