Headline

Presidential Tribunal: Obi Closes Case Against Tinubu With 13 Witnesses

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2023

Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, who alleged that the presidential election that held on February 25 was rigged in favour of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, on Friday, closed his case.

Obi, who came third in the presidential contest, closed his case after he tendered several documentary evidence and called a total of 13 witnesses that testified before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja.

Among exhibits he tendered before the court included polling unit results from 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, as well as bundle of documents containing the total number of Permanent Voters Card, PVCs, that were collected in 32 states prior to the 2023 general elections.

Aside from tendering four video exhibits, one of which was a press conference, where the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, assured that results of the election would be electronically transmitted to the IReV portal in real-time using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines, Obi and his party, equally tendered bundle of documents that contained the total number of registered voters in each of the states.

Other electoral documents the court admitted in evidence were certified true copies of INEC Forms EC40Gs; EC40G1; EC40GPU, which were reports of various polling units where elections did not hold.

All the Respondents had challenged the admissibility of all the documents in evidence, saying they would adduce reasons behind their objections in their final written address.

Meanwhile, though the Petitioners initially told the court that they would call a total of 50 witnesses to testify in the matter, however, they closed their case on Friday with the testimony of the 13th witness.

Earlier in the proceeding, Mr. Tanko Yunusa, who testified as the 12th witness, told the court that he served as the Chief Spokesman of the Labour Party Presidential Election Council as well as the National Director of Media in the party.

While being cross-examined by counsel to the INEC, Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, the witness, told the court that during the presidential poll, he voted at Dawaki district of Abuja and afterwards went to LP’s Election Situation Room at Asokoro.

He told the court that he subsequently returned back to his polling unit to observe the counting of votes.

Mr. Yunusa told the court that his party filed several suits before the general elections, even as he identified a copy of the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1454/2022, which was delivered on January 23, 2023.

The certified true copy of the said judgement which was a case the LP filed against INEC before the general elections, was admitted in evidence as Exhibit S1.

In page two of the judgement which the witness was asked to read, in the open court, the LP had as party of its reliefs, sought to compel INEC to electronically transmit results of the general elections.

However, in the concluding part of the judgement, all the reliefs that were sought by the party were refused as the high court held that nothing in the Electoral Act stipulated how INEC should transmit election results.

The high court, while dismissing the suit, further held that INEC was at liberty to prescribe the manner the election results should be transmitted.

Meanwhile, when the witness was shown copies of some results of the presidential election and asked to read out the scores that were recorded for both the LP and APC, he said the documents were blurred and badly mutilated.

He equally told the court that from the 105 paragraphed affidavit he deposed in his statement on oath in support of the petition, he did not state any figure to indicate the number of unlawful votes that were credited to PresidentTinubu and the APC.

Mr Yunusa further told the court that though there are 176, 974 polling units in the country, his party, deployed a total of 133, 000 agents to monitor the elections.

Answering questions from Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, the witness, told the court that he was formerly the Chairman of National Conscience Party, NCP, before it was deregistered by INEC.

He told the court that he joined the LP on May 20, 2022, before Obi, adding that the party held its primary election on May 30, 2022.

While insisting that votes were allocated to all the presidential candidates by INEC, the witness, said: “If the results were uploaded as required by the law, my party would have gotten more votes than what was allocated to us.”

He told the court that his wish was for the entire result of the election to be voided, including the votes “allocated” to the presidential candidate of his party, Obi.

Asked to confirm that Obi scored about 95.07 percent of votes in Anambra state, the witness, said: “I have not seen it.”

Continuing, he said: “We are not satisfied with the outcome of election, that is why we are here in court. How do we know the actual votes we got when the results are yet to be uploaded on the IReV portal, four months after the election held,” he queried.

The witness told the court that unlawful votes were credited to President Tinubu by INEC.

Asked to tell the court the total figure of votes that were unlawfully allocated to Tinubu, the witness, said: “Our expert witness has already presented the figures in his evidence before this court. I am not a mathematician and I am not good in calculations.”

When he was asked what he wanted the court to do with results that were scored by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who came second in the election, the witness, said: “We are challenging the entire results of the election and if they are cancelled, it affects results that were allocated to all the candidates, including votes scored by Atiku.”

Yunusa had earlier in his evidence-in-chief, told the court that over 18, 088 results of the presidential election that INEC uploaded to its IReV portal, were blurred.

Shortly after he was discharged by the court, the Petitioners called their 13th witness, Peter Emmanuel Yari, who told the court that he was summoned through a subpoena.

Yari told the court that he served as a Presiding Officer in Kaduna State during the presidential election, adding that though he was trained by INEC, he had problem with the accreditation of voters using the BVAS machines.

He also told the court that another major problem he had on the election day was the uploading of results with the BVAS.

The PW-13 said he collated results of the election manually, after which he called his Supervisory Polling Officer, SPO, who directed him to take the result to his Ward Collation Center.

The witness told the court that aside from himself, agents of all the political parties signed and collected copies of the result.

After he concluded his testimony and was discharged from the witness box, the Petitioners’ lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, announced that his clients would close their case at that point.

“My lords, with due respect, that is the case of the Petitioners,” Dr. Uzoukwu, SAN, stated.

Following agreement of all the parties, the Justice Tsammani-led led panel adjourned the case till July 3 for INEC to open its defence to the petition.

Cited as 1st to 4th Respondents in the matter are; INEC, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the APC.

It will be recalled that the LP candidate had approached the court to challenge the declaration of President Tinubu of the APC as winner of the presidential contest.

Obi, in the joint petition he filed with his party, maintained that President Tinubu was not the valid winner of the election.

The petitioners, in their case marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023, equally contended that President Tinubu was not qualified to participate in the presidential poll.

According to the petitioners, as at the time Tinubu’s running mate, Shettima, became the Vice Presidential candidate, he was still the nominated candidate of the APC for the Borno Central Senatorial election.

The petitioners further challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the presidential election, alleging that he was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking.

On the ground that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non- compliance with the provision of Electoral Act, 2022, the petitioners argued that INEC acted in breach of its own Regulations and Guidelines.

The Petitioners argued that the electoral body was in the course of the conduct of the presidential poll, mandatorily required to prescribe and deploy technological devices for the accreditation, verification, continuation and authentication of voters and their particulars as contained in its Regulations.

They are, therefore, praying the court to among other things, declare that all the votes recorded for Tinubu and the APC, were wasted votes owing to his non-qualification/disqualification.

“That it be determined that on the basis of the remaining votes (after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2nd Respondent) the 1st Petitioner (Obi) scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25% of the votes cast in at least 2/3 of the States of the Federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and satisfied the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the 25th February 2023 presidential election.

“That it be determined that the 2nd Respondent having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023.”

In the alternative, the petitioners, want an order cancelling the election and compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election at which Tinubu, Shettima and the APC, listed as 2nd, 3rd and 4th Respondents, respectively, shall not participate.

They urged the court to declare that since Tinubu was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast in the election, therefore, his return as the winner of the presidential election, was unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect whatsoever.

In a further alternative prayer, the petitioners want the court to hold that the presidential election was void on the ground that it was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Likewise, they applied for an order, “cancelling the presidential election conducted on 25th February 2023 and mandating the 1st Respondent to conduct a fresh election for the President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

VANGUARD

Headline

US To Revoke Student Visas For Those Who Skip Classes, Programmes

Published

22 hours ago

August 4, 2025

Editor

The United States has issued a warning to international students regarding the consequences of violating student visa regulations.

In a message shared via its official X handle on Monday, the US Mission in Nigeria stressed that students who drop out, skip classes, or leave their academic programmes without notifying their schools risk having their US student visas revoked.

Such actions could also lead to disqualification from obtaining future US visas, it stated.

The mission advised all student visa holders to strictly adhere to the terms of their visas and maintain their academic status to avoid any immigration issues.

“If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your programmes of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas.

“Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues,” the mission noted.

Headline

Fake Labubu Dolls Worth Millions Seized In London Raid Amid Growing Safety Fears

Published

2 days ago

August 3, 2025

Editor

Thousands of fake Labubu dolls believed to be worth millions of pounds have been seized at an industrial estate on the outskirts of London following a major crackdown led by Trading Standards and law enforcement agencies.

The operation, which followed weeks of investigation, traced the fake merchandise from a corner shop in Swansea, south Wales, to a warehouse complex in London.

Officers discovered rooms stacked floor-to-ceiling with fake goods, but it was the imitation Labubu dolls at the centre of a viral TikTok craze that drew the most concern.

The dolls, produced by popular toy company Pop Mart, have surged in global demand, with some genuine pieces retailing for up to £80. The popularity of the brand helped the company double its revenue to £1.33 billion last year, according to Forbes. However, authorities say the boom has also attracted criminal enterprises looking to profit from the trend through counterfeit production.

“The head comes off. The feet pull off. The eyes aren’t glued in,” said Rhys Harries, a Trading Standards officer, while examining one of the seized dolls. “These are clear choking hazards.”

Using a plastic tool modelled after a child’s throat, Harries demonstrated how easily parts of the fake dolls could become life-threatening. “These parts would get stuck and potentially cause choking,” he warned.

The scale of the operation was alarming. Border Force officials say they have intercepted hundreds of thousands of fake Labubu dolls at UK ports in recent months, with many traced back to manufacturers in China, Hong Kong, and Turkey.

In one case, a mother from Caerphilly, Jade, recounted how fake Labubu dolls she bought for her six-year-old son Harri’s birthday began falling apart within hours. “The hook came off and ended up in his mouth,” she said. “Luckily he was old enough to spit it out and tell me.”

Despite knowing the dolls were fakes, Jade said she bought them due to the high cost of the original ones and peer pressure from other children. She got the knock-offs for just over £10 each.

Authorities say the rush to cash in on the craze has led to the use of substandard and potentially dangerous materials, including toxic plastics. Kate Caffery, deputy director of intelligence and law enforcement at the UK’s Intellectual Property Office, said counterfeiting is the second most lucrative source of criminal income worldwide, after drug trafficking.

“There’s a complete disregard for safety,” Caffery said. “They’re made from anything from the inferior to the outright dangerous.”

TikTok collector and plush toy enthusiast Meg Goldberger, 27, said she struggled to find genuine dolls due to scalpers bulk-buying authentic stock and reselling them at inflated prices. “They sell out in seconds,” she said. “Some resellers are using bots to buy hundreds at once.”

Investigators found invoice books showing the dolls were destined for locations across the UK. Some of the seized dolls will be used as evidence, while the rest will be stored in a secure location before being recycled or destroyed.

Pop Mart has been contacted for comment on the counterfeit issue, which authorities say is now a national concern.

Headline

Young Catholics Converge On Rome For Pope Leo’s Vigil

Published

3 days ago

August 2, 2025

Editor

Thousands of young Catholics began assembling Saturday for an evening prayer vigil led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage and a key event in the Jubilee holy year that is expected to draw up to a million people.

The “Jubilee of Youth” — when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church’s power — has seen young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome, waving flags, singing or praying in groups.

It comes nearly three months after Leo, 69, the first American pontiff, began his papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II.

On Saturday morning, thousands of young pilgrims had already gathered at the vast open space in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood where the pope will lead the vigil, the ground already dotted with blankets and mattresses.

Elsewhere in the Eternal City, numerous groups of young people were seen preparing to set off for the venue.

On the plaza outside the Basilica of St John Lateran, they filled water bottles, applied suncream and checked bags of food and snacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a swarm of people and then sleep under the stars.

Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the Pope up close.

“It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, excited to experience the “night of prayers under the stars”.

French pilgrim, Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late Pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland.

“Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said.

– ‘What is his message?’ –

Since the youth jubilee began on Monday, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events throughout the city.

On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.

Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held, and youths lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages.

Of the many languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital this week, Spanish seemed to dominate. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries were represented, and it expects up to a million people to attend the vigil.

The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change rise among the under-30s, with many saying they were curious to hear the Church’s position on global warming, wars and economic inequalities.

Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome.

“We are still trying to understand his leadership,” she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about “third world countries”.

As Parisian student Alice Berry exclaimed, “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”

– Raising voices –

The youth pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and more than three years of war in Ukraine.

The Vatican has praised young Catholics who managed to travel to Rome from war-scarred countries, with Pope Leo saying the voices of the world’s youth “will be heard to the end of the earth”.

In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass on Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signalling the Vatican’s openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth.

More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organisers.

Roman authorities have tightened security in the city — which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundating the city.

AFP