By Ayo Yusuf
The string of rulings at the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, continues to favour President Bola Tinubu as the court dismissed the allegation that he was ever convicted of drug trafficking in the United States of America, USA.
In its lead judgement in the joint petition that was filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, the court held that the evidence before it established that the $460, 000 fine that was imposed on Mr. Tinubu in the US, was in a civil matter.
It held that such a fine did not translate to a criminal conviction capable of warranting Mr. Tibubu’s disqualification from contesting the presidential election that held on February 25.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, who led the five-member panel, held that a careful perusal of exhibits that were adduced before the court, showed that the case that led to the fine that was awarded against President Tinubu, “was in the civil docket” of the court in the US.
He held that contrary to the contention of the Petitioners, the case was a civil forfeiture proceeding against funds that were in the bank and not an action that was against Mr. Tinubu as a person.
He described such civil forfeiture proceedings as a unique remedy usually targeted at a property and not the owner.
Moreover, the court held that Mr. Obi and the LP failed to show that Mr. Tinubu was indicted, arraigned, tried or convicted for any criminal offense in the USA.
The court further noted that following a letter the Inspector General of Police wrote in 2003, the American Embassy, confirmed that there was no criminal record against Mr. Tinubu in its centralized information center.
It held that both the letter from the IGP and the response from the US Embassy, were public documents that are admissible in evidence.
The court maintained that the Petitioners did not produce any evidence to establish that Mr. Tinubu was tried and convicted for an offense involving of dishonesty.
Besides, the court held that a period of 10 years had elapsed since the said fine was imposed against Mr Tinubu and could no longer be a valid ground for seeking his disqualification.
It accordingly dismissed that leg of the petition the LP and Obi filed to nullify President Tinubu’s election.
The Petitioners had among other things, challenged Mr Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the presidential election, alleging that he was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offense involving dishonesty and drug trafficking.
They contended that such indictment, constituted a ground for disqualification under section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
