President Bola Tinubu’s lawyers on Sunday boasted that the documents Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, will obtained Chicago State University will not be accepted by the Supreme Court during his appeal.
The comment was reportedly made by Oluwole Afolabi, one of Tinubu’s lawyers, in a WhatsApp voice note explaining the implication of the ruling by Judge Nancy Maldonado.
Expressive Info had earlier reported that Judge Maldonado ordered the Chicago State University to release the president’s academic credential by Monday, warning the defendant not to request any appeal again, as it will be rejected.
Atiku, the former Nigeria’s vice president is hoping to present Tinubu’s academic records at the Supreme Court to prove that the president’s certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission was fake and that he is unqualified to contest the election in the first place.
However, Tinubu’s lawyer, Afolabi said, “The Electoral Act does not allow for the introduction of new evidence on appeal. A party must provide a list of the documents he intends to rely on at the time his Petition is filed.”
He added, “A party cannot spring surprise on his adversary by introducing evidence that was not filed along with the petition.”
Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Mr Tinubu’s personal lawyer, Babatunde Ogala, echoed a similar view, saying, “The headless mob is masturbating over nothing. The documents can no longer be used. It is of no value. We have passed that stage.”
“One is whether President Tinubu attended Chicago State University. The answer is yes. Second, what were his grades in school? The school had already provided that,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to X to react to the news.
See their reactions in the screenshots below.
