The Presidential Election Petitions Court, PEC, sitting in Abuja, on Friday, admitted in evidence, certified copies of the academic qualifications of President Bola Tinubu.
Equally admitted in evidence and marked as an exhibit by the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, was Tinubu’s certificate of service from Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, which formed part of his work records, as well as a copy of his alleged Guinean Passport.
The documents were tendered before the court by a human rights activist and public interest litigator, Mr Mike Enahoro-Ebah, who appeared as a star witness in the petition the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Atiku Abubakar, filed to nullify the outcome of the presidential election that held on February 25.
Enahoro-Ebah, who is the 27th witness in the matter, told the court that he applied and obtained Form EC9, which contained the affidavit of personal particulars, which Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in aid of his qualifications to contest the presidential election.
He told the court that his lawyer in the United States of America, USA, also wrote to various schools that the 2nd Respondent, Tinubu, claimed to have attended and obtained more information about him.
Led in evidence by Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the witness, told the court that among the documents he obtained from the USA, included Tinubu’s purported certificate from Chicago State University, which he said belonged to a female.
Also tendered before the court by the witness, was a transcript that was issued in 1977 by South West College, which he said equally established that the Tinubu that attended Chicago State University was a female.
The witness told the court that whereas the forwarding letter from his lawyer in the USA, which contained Tinubu’s details, came on November 1, 2022, however, it was not until April 2023 that he received a copy of the notorized judgement on criminal asset forfeiture proceedings in a drug related case that involved the 2nd Respondent
Besides, the witness told the court that documents he obtained from INEC showed that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, certificate that Tinubu submitted in aid of his qualifications, bore the name, Adekunle.
Meanwhile, despite stiff objections from the INEC, President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, who are Respondents in the matter, the court, admitted all the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits PDE-1 to PDE-5.
While being cross-examined by President Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, the witness, said he was subpoenaed to appear before the court with some listed documents, by Atiku and the PDP.
He said the documents the Petitioners requested for, included the certificate that Tinubu said he obtained from the Chicago State University in the USA.
The PW-27 said he had in 2022, instituted a direct criminal complaint against President Tinubu before a Chief Magistrate Court in Abuja.
He told the court that the Chief Magistrate Court however declined jurisdiction to entertain the case.
According to him, dissatisfied with the action of the Magistrate, he wrote a petition that is still pending before the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory.
A copy of the Magistrate court process was admitted in evidence and marked as an exhibit by the panel.
Asked if he inquired from the Guinean embassy if President Tinubu denounced his purported citizenship of the country, the witness, said: “My lord, I did not have to because the former President of Guinea, Alpha Conde, admitted the issuance of the passport.”
However, following insistence by Tinubu’s lawyer that the said passport that was tendered in evidence, expired in 2020, the witness, said: “My lords, the data page indicated that it expired, but citizenship does not expire.”
When the witness was asked if he was aware that the judgement from the US District Court was not registered in Nigeria, he said he was only aware that the verdict was “adequately notorized.”
The witness said he was not aware of any letter the US Consulate in Nigeria wrote to the Inspector General of Police on February 4, 2003, stating that there was no warrant of conviction against Tinubu in the USA with respect to the drug-related case.
Asked if he was aware that the Chicago State University had on June 27, 2022, issued a public notice, where it stated that the 2nd Defendant not only attended the school but graduated with an honours degree, the witness, said he was not aware of such letter, insisting that his case at the Magistrate court bordered on forgery.
The panel admitted the said public notice from the Chicago State University, in evidence after it was tendered by Tinubu’s lawyer, and marked it as exhibit XX2.