The Supreme Court has claimed that there are contradictory letters from Chicago State University (CSU) on President Bola Tinubu’s certificate.
Justice John Okoro, chairman of the seven-member panel hearing the suit of Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), filed against President Bola Tinubu’s victory, stated this on Monday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the February poll, but his opponents challenged him in court.
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal dismissed the pleas of Atiku and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, but they went to the Supreme Court, with Atiku requesting additional proof against Tinubu for suspected forgery.
Atiku had requested Tinubu’s academic record from Chicago State University in order to verify his claim that the president submitted fake documents to INEC.
However, by the time the documents were revealed, the 180-day statutory deadline for filing and determining an election petition had passed.
Given the seriousness of the matter, Atiku asked the court to approve his appeal to offer new evidence. Tinubu said that granting such a request would be an abuse of the legal system.
Atiku based his appeal on the fact that providing false documents by any candidate, especially one seeking the highest office in the land, is a serious constitutional violation that should not be promoted.
However, Tinubu objected, claiming that the matter is a pre-election affair among other things, and subsequently requesting that the court refuse the application.
While criticising Tinubu, Atiku said that merit issues should not be decided or ruled on during the interlocutory stage.
Atiku further stated that the presenting of a fake certificate disqualifies a candidate indefinitely, regardless of when it is delivered.
During the hearing on Monday, Justice Okoro stated that criminal matters must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“But in this case, there are two conflicting letters from the CSU – one authenticating the president’s certificate and another discrediting it. Which do we rely on?,” he enquired.
