Tribunal: Lagos deputy governor took an Oath of Allegiance in America, US Immigration Lawyer tells court
Obafemi Hamzat, the deputy governor of Lagos, allegedly swore an oath of loyalty to renounce his Nigerian citizenship in the United States, according to Olubusayo Fasidi, a U.S. immigration lawyer, on Thursday.
Fasidi, a Nigerian, reportedly provided testimony before the Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Dr. Olumide Ayeni (SAN), the petitioner’s attorney and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, introduced her as a witness.
The witness testified before the tribunal that Hamzat, the third respondent to the petition, likewise submitted Forms 8CFR/337 and N400 requesting naturalization.
The materials were presented by Ayeni before the three-person tribunal, but the counsel for each respondent protested, stating that their justification would be contained in their final written addresses.
The witness claimed that a person could have dual citizenship during cross-examination by Mr. Eric Ogiegor, Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
She claimed, however, that she was not aware of the section of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution dealing with dual citizenship and that the tribunal had summoned her to explain U.S. law rather than the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
The witness was asked by Mr. Bode Olanipekun (SAN), counsel for Hamzat and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to reveal the location and day of Hamzat’s naturalization application, but she refused, citing the Privacy Act of 1974 as protecting the information.
Mr. Norris Quakers, the attorney for the All Progressives Congress (APC), questioned the witness on her knowledge of Hamzat’s disclosure of his American citizenship.
After the witness gave an affirmative response, Quakers claimed that the witness was speaking about legal rather than factual matters.
The tribunal presided over by Justice Arum Ashom directed the respondent’s attorneys to include their concerns in their final written addresses while all of the papers were admitted as evidence.
Justice Mikail Abdullahi and Justice l.P. Braimoh are the other panel members.
For the purpose of continuing the hearing, the tribunal continued the case to June 26.
In order to identify variations in some locations from what is recorded on INEC’s Form EC 40A, Ayeni earlier produced a result sheet from polling stations in nine local government areas of the state.
Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, and APC’s attorneys objected to the Form EC 40A’s admissibility while reserving their arguments until their final written speeches.