By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, has stated that Labour Party(LP) and its Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, that they don’t have concrete evidence to prove that President Tinubu was convicted of drug-related charges in the United States of America.
The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, which stated this on Wednesday, 6 September, 2023, explained that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by the petitioners
According to Tsammani, 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.
“The petitioners failed to show evidence that the President was detained or convicted for any particular offence as alleged by the petitioners, ” the court said, just as it also held that the fine imposed on Tinubu by a United States court was over a civil forfeiture proceeding.
The court also ruled that the duo of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma were legitimately qualified to contested the 2023 presidential election..