President Bola Tinubu says all the 27 witnesses called by
Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to adduce “useful”
evidence in the case against him.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the PDP, is
challenging the outcome of the February 25 election and praying the court to
nullify Tinubu’s victory.
Among several issues raised in the joint petition, Atiku and
the PDP are alleging that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the poll.
They claim that the president was indicted for drug
trafficking in the United States, that his academic certificates submitted to
INEC were forged, and that Tinubu is a citizen of Guinea.
The petitioners also accused INEC of manipulating the poll
to favour Tinubu.
The petitioners closed their case on June 23 after calling
27 witnesses.
In the final written address dated July 14, Tinubu through
his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, described the evidence given by all the 27
witnesses as “a panoply of hearsay, admissions against interest, and
irrelevancies on the part of the petitioners”.
“Without fear of contradiction,
the petitioners have no single witness whose evidence could be described as
useful or manageable to their case.”
OLANIPEKUN HAILS
TINUBU’S WITNESS
Meanwhile, the respondent said the sole witness he called
was competent and able to discredit the case of the petitioners.
Opeyemi Bamidele, senate majority leader, was the only
witness called by the president.
“This witness
demonstrated undoubted competence to testify in respect of the subjects
submitted before the court, including issues surrounding the US proceedings,
himself, being a US practising attorney and counsellor at law,” Olanipekun
stated.
“Also, being a lawmaker, who participated in the enactment
of the Electoral Act, 2022, he stated the position and intention of the
legislature, particularly, as it relates to the appropriate mode of
transmission as well as transfer and collation of results.”
Based on the arguments and submissions contained in the
final address, the respondent prayed the court to “dismiss this petition as
totally lacking in merit, substance and bona fide”.
“It has been glaringly shown and demonstrated by the
presentation of the petition itself and the evidence presented by the
petitioners, including the evidence of PW27, that the petition itself is not
only frivolous but also amounts to a crass abuse of the process of court,” he
said.
“Non-existent
documents were being sourced and printed from the internet, among others, to be
presented before this honourable court, after the filing of the petition, in
furtherance of the abusive nature of the petition itself.”
Add Comment