By Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos), Ben Adoga and David Lawani (Abuja)
His justification came in the wake of a ratchet of pronouncements in which former Nigerian Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, and the camp of President Bola Tinubu traded words over the latter’s academic records at the Chicago State University (CSU) that is raising dust in the country.
There were also currents from Atiku that the nation’s reputation stands at stake over the President’s academic record, amid a gale of counter-fire from Tinubu’s aides, party, and lawyer that with the revelations from CSU, Atiku’s political ambition has now come to a standstill.
Reacting to the case initiated by Atiku in the United States, Ubani suggested why the apex court in the land would not be disposed to admitting fresh evidence on the case before it.
Atiku had requested the release of President Bola Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University with claims that the certificate the President submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not be authentic.
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*’No fresh evidence’
Speaking on the development on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily yesterday, Ubani said, “Looking at the facts surrounding it, the issue of admissibility of fresh evidence by the appellate court is very rare, especially if that evidence was available to you while you were initiating the process.
“The Supreme Court will never, even the Court of Appeal, admit fresh evidence because their job is to review the decision of the court below and not to now evaluate any evidence.
“They don’t take any evidence but there are special circumstances under which fresh evidence can be admitted by the appellate court and that ground is maybe by the time you file the case that evidence was not available.”
President Tinubu, through his lawyers, resisted Atiku’s demand for his records to be released, but the US court eventually ordered CSU to release the President’s academic records to Atiku, who had told the court he needed them for his appeal in the Supreme Court.
Ubani said it will take a lot from Atiku’s legal team to convince the Supreme Court to admit fresh evidence in the appeal of the election tribunal judgement, as the apex court will only be reviewing the decision of the lower court.
The senior lawyer noted that Atiku’s legal team will be challenged by Tinubu’s team on the issue of admissibility of fresh evidence; adding that the court may be left to use its discretionary power to decide whether or not to admit fresh evidence in the case.
He said, “The issue of admissibility of fresh evidence is very critical, you must convince, and whoever is bringing it will be opposed by the other party. So, the court now exercises what is called discretionary power in either admitting or not allowing that fresh evidence to come in.”
*Nation’s reputation at stake over president’s academic record, says ex-VP
Yesterday, Atiku tackled hard, saying Nigeria’s reputation is at stake with the leader of the country parading allegedly questionable certificates.
Making this assertion in a World Press Briefing in Abuja, the presidential candidate charged that it shouldn’t take long for certificates to be verified.
According to him, “It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.”
He added that the process of going for the documents was at a great cost, insisting that his insistence on genuine certification was not all about him, but for the benefit of all.
“We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons. The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere,” he said.
The former Vice-President, who said he was a democrat by conviction, called for the rededication of all to the betterment of the country, and said he was putting the facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution.
He stated, “This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs.
“In line with this, therefore, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me in this campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country, and in our government. This is a task for every one of us.”
Atiku had requested the Chicago State University (CSU) to furnish him with the authentic certificate of President Tinubu.
This is against some ‘wild speculations’ that Tinubu did not graduate from the institution, and, therefore, does not qualify to stand for election as the president in the first place.
*Atiku’s ambition has come to standstill- APC
But in its response, also yesterday, Tinubu’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), berated Atiku over his quest to obtain the academic records of the president.
It would be recalled that Atiku had requested the documents to back his allegation of forgery of the Chicago State University (CSU) certificate against Tinubu.
The allegation of forgery was one of the petitions dismissed by the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in the suit Atiku filed to challenge the election of Tinubu.
However, in an affidavit it presented to the court in Chicago, the CSU said the Diploma Certificate, dated June 22, 1979, and tendered to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on June 17, 2022, was valid.
The CSU said it provided a Diploma to Tinubu and subsequently provided a certified copy of that certificate, adding that both are valid and authentic diplomas of the institution.
But in an interview on Arise News on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, said the latest testimony by the CSU about the academic records of President Tinubu has vindicated him.
Morka stated that the ruling party and its leadership are delighted at the outcome of the deposition of the university, which showed that the documents released are authentic.
The APC spokesman said the political career of the PDP presidential candidate has come to a standstill, and that the sun has set on it.
Morka stated that Atiku needs to rest on his case against the president and accept his loss in the 2023 presidential election.
He said, “The outcome of the process in the United States about this matter is just exactly what we imagined and known all along; which is that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was a student of the Chicago State University.
“He partook in the full course of the programme and graduated from that school with honours. The depositions by the registrar in the US attest completely to this position, quite contrary to the original case that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, brought to the court in the US in search of facts and information that actually, do not exist.”
The party’s spokesman added, “We are very delighted at the outcome because it vindicates the person of the president and his position all along.
“Atiku Abubakar’s political career has come to a standstill. The sun has set on his career. And I think he needs to realise it. He served this country as vice president. He held other positions. That is enough for any individual in this country who is politically active. I appreciate his service, but he needs to rest this matter.
“There is nothing out of CSU that even begins to suggest that this president, as a student and now as a president, did anything questionable or put into question his claims to having graduated from the CSU.”
