President Bola Tinubu

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has struck out the petition filed by the Labour Party, LP and it’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, pointing to President Bola Tinubu’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking in the United States.

The petitioners had contended that Tinubu forfeited $460,000 in the U.S. following an indictment over drug trafficking.

However, while maintaining that Tinubu cannot be disqualified on the basis of his forfeiture of drug money in the United States, the tribunal judges said the evidence (Exhibit P5) tendered by Peter Obi and LP, other petitioners showed that “it was a civil forfeiture proceeding.”

“The order of forfeiture in Exhibit P5 on which the petitioners have relied does not qualify as a sentence of fine for an offence involving dishonesty or fraud within the confabulation of Section 137(d) of the 1999 constitution,” said Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the judgement on Wednesday.

He added: “The petitioners have evidently failed to establish their allegation that the 2nd respondent is disqualified from contesting the presidential election under Section 137(1)(d) of the 1999 constitution because he was fined $460,000 by a district court in Illinois.”