The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, today stated that the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have failed to prove that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was convicted of drug-related charges in the United States of America (USA).
According to the panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by the petitioners, pointing out, “The petitioners failed to show evidence that the president was detained or convicted for any particular offence as alleged by the petitioners.
The Court clarified that the fine imposed on Tinubu by a United States court was over a civil forfeiture proceeding and affirmed that Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma were qualified to have contested the last presidential election.
Tsammani, while delivering judgment on the petition by Obi and LP, held that the fine imposed by the US court did not qualify as a fine for fraud or dishonesty provided in Section 137(1)(d) of the Constitution.
