President Bola Tinubu’s attorneys on Sunday said documents to be obtained by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, at the United States court will be useless for his appeal at the Supreme Court, according to Peoples Gazette report.
One of President Bola Tinubu’s attorneys, Oluwole Afolabi, disclosed this in a WhatsApp voice note explaining the implication of the ruling by Judge Nancy Maldonado.
Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that Ms 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.
The former vice president is looking to present Mr 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.
But Mr 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.
