President Bola Tinubu appeared before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Tuesday, where he presented his academic records to counter a suit filed by Atiku Abubakar challenging his victory as Nigeria’s president. The records, obtained from Chicago State University in the United States, were submitted by Mr. Tinubu’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun.
Following the presidential election held on 25 February, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner. However, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second in the race, disputed the election outcome and filed a petition on 21 March. Atiku alleged fraudulent academic and criminal records, as well as electoral malpractices.
After Atiku concluded presenting his case on 23 June, it was the turn of President Tinubu, the APC, and INEC to present their defense. During the proceedings on Tuesday, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and President Tinubu’s lead lawyer, submitted the academic records from Chicago State University, where the President graduated. Additionally, he presented a letter from the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, confirming Mr. Tinubu’s clean record regarding criminal conviction or arrest in the U.S.
In 2003, the then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, had inquired about any criminal record against Mr. Tinubu in the U.S., at the request of the Alliance for Democracy, a political party under whose platform Mr. Tinubu sought re-election as governor of Lagos State. The American Consulate in Lagos responded, stating that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the National Crimes Information Centre (NCIC) found no criminal arrest records, wants, or warrants for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
To further disprove allegations of fraud, Mr. Olanipekun submitted immigration documents showing Mr. Tinubu’s trips to the U.S. between 2011 and 2021, which were certified by the Nigerian Immigration Service. He also presented the final results of the presidential election, which officially declared Mr. Tinubu as the president-elect on 1 March.
After submitting numerous documentary evidence, Mr. Olanipekun informed the court, headed by Haruna Tsammani, that a solid “documentary foundation” had been established for Mr. Tinubu’s case. He mentioned that oral evidence would continue the next day with the calling of witnesses.
Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche, a SAN, opposed the admissibility of the documents, while INEC and the APC, the co-respondents, did not oppose the tendering and admissibility of the papers. The court admitted the documents as evidence and adjourned further hearing until Wednesday.
