President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Peoples Congress (APC) have concluded their defence in the petition filed by Mr Peter Obi and his Labour Party. Their defence was presented before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), and after the testimony of their sole witness, counsel Wole Olanipekun, SAN, informed the court that they were closing their case. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, representing the APC, also stated that they had no witnesses and relied on the testimonies presented by other respondents.
Following the closure of their defence, Justice Haruna Tsammani, presiding over the five-member panel, announced that the dates for the final written addresses would be communicated. The assigned time frames for submission were ten days for each of the respondents, seven days for the petitioners, and five days for a reply.
During the proceedings, President Bola Tinubu's legal team submitted several documents in support of their defence. These documents included a letter from the Nigeria Police to the United States Embassy dated February 3, 2003, a letter from the United States Embassy to the Nigeria Police dated February 4, 2003, US visas and immigration documents spanning from 2011 to 2021, a certified copy of the Report of the Committee on the Location of the Federal Capital of Nigeria, and copies of various forms (EC 8D) pertaining to the presidential election of February 25, 2023, including those for Kano State.
In addition, they tendered a list of registered members of the Labour Party and a membership list of LP for Anambra state, aiming to establish that Peter Obi is not a member of the Labour Party. After the tendering of documents, the defence called their sole witness, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Michael Bamidele, to testify. During cross-examination, the witness stated that there was a shortfall of 10,292 votes against Tinubu in the recorded results of the February 25 presidential election in Kano State. Furthermore, the witness acknowledged the presence of a report by EU election observers in Nigeria, which was tendered as evidence.
When questioned about the letter from the United States Embassy to the Nigeria Police addressing criminal allegations against Tinubu, the witness explained that the Nigeria Police had requested a search for general criminal records concerning Tinubu. The witness confirmed that the letter from the US, which cleared Tinubu of any criminal conviction, was an appropriate response.
Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated that they had no cross-examination to conduct. Mr Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) filed the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023, challenging the election that brought President Bola Tinubu into power. The respondents in the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
