ABUJA, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Thursday, July 20, 2023, refuted a claim in a petition that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu should be disqualified from office due to a 20-year-old United States District Court judgment.
The petition, filed by Labour party presidential candidate Peter Obi, referenced a Chicago court order required Tinubu to forfeit $460,000 because the money was found to be proceeds from drug trafficking.
In response, INEC declared that the said case was never brought to its attention before the 2023 presidential election.
A.B. Mahmoud SAN, lead counsel for INEC, detailed the commission’s position in a final written address, stating, “On the alleged imposition of fine on the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) by the United States District Court in Case No: 93C 4483, the case of the 1st Respondent (INEC) is simply that same was not brought to its attention.”
Moreover, Mahmoud cited the Nigerian 1999 Constitution in his address, arguing that a fine to disqualify a person from running for president must be associated with a court sentence in Nigeria.
He claimed that the U.S. forfeiture order was a result of civil proceedings and not a criminal conviction.
“Thus, the petitioners failed to prove this allegation, and we urge the court to so hold,” he said.
The INEC’s defense coincides with the submissions of the lawyers representing Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress.
They contended that the U.S. judgment was not a criminal conviction and as such should not impact Tinubu’s eligibility to hold office.
The Presidential Election Petitions Court is yet to give a ruling on this matter.
Meanwhile, the allegations have sparked significant political controversy, adding to the heated climate of Nigerian politics.
