The Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja has issued a ruling stating that the allegations of drug trafficking in the US against President Bola Tinubu, made by the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, were unsubstantiated.
A five-member panel of the court, led by Haruna Tsammani, delivered the lead judgment on the substantive suit and clarified that President Tinubu had not been convicted of any crime in the United States.
The court referenced correspondences between the Nigeria Police and the US embassy in Nigeria, indicating that the US consulate in Lagos had cleared Mr. Tinubu of any criminal record in the US.
Mr. Obi had asserted in court that Mr. Tinubu was convicted of drug trafficking, resulting in the forfeiture of $460,000.
However, the court emphasized that the forfeiture of $460,000 by Mr. Tinubu was part of a civil case and could not serve as a basis for disqualification from the election under Nigerian law.