BREAKING: Supreme Court admits conflicting letters from CSU on Tinubu’s Certificate
According to the Supreme Court, President Bola Tinubu’s certificate contains conflicting letters from Chicago State University (CSU).
On Monday, President Bola Tinubu’s victory was challenged by Atiku Abubakar, a presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to Justice John Okoro, the panel’s chairman.
President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been proclaimed the victor of the election in February by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but his rivals took him to court.
Atiku and Peter Obi of the Labour Party had their appeals dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, but they continued on to the Supreme Court with Atiku requesting to provide additional evidence against Tinubu for suspected forgery.
In order to substantiate his claim that the president submitted fraudulent documents to INEC, Atiku requested Tinubu’s academic record from Chicago State University.
The 180-day statutory deadline for filing and determining an election petition had passed by the time the materials were made public.
Given the seriousness of the matter, Atiku urged the court to approve his appeal to provide new evidence. Tinubu objected, claiming that if granted, it would be an abuse of the legal system.
Atiku based his argument on the fact that providing fake documents by any candidate is a serious constitutional violation that should not be promoted, especially by a contender for the highest office in the land.
In response, Tinubu urged the court to reject the application’s grant, claiming that the case is among others a pre-election affair.
Atiku criticized Tinubu and argued that merit-related matters shouldn’t be decided or ruled on during the interlocutory stage.
Atiku also made the point that, regardless of when it is provided, presenting a forgery of a certificate disqualifies a candidate forever.
Justice Okoro stated at the hearing on Monday that criminal charges 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 asked.