President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday opened his defence in the petition filed at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The petitioners are challenging the victory of Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) at the February 23, 2019 presidential poll.
The five-man tribunal led by Justice Mohammed Garba had, on Monday, asked Buhari’s legal team to open their defence on Tuesday after the Independent National Electoral Commission said it would not call any witness in the case.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Buhari’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), tendered a number of documents, including the ones he described as certified true copies of certificates and results of Cambridge examinations which Buhari took in 1961.
According to Olanipekun, the documents included certified true copies of Cambridge Assessment International Education School Certificate for Second Division Grade II in 1961; and the Cambridge Assessment for lectures received by Buhari.
They also included the certified true copies of confidential result sheet of University of Cambridge WASC 1961 for Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, showing the school and candidates who took the examinations in 1961.
Olanipekun also tendered a group photo of Katsina Provincial School pupils, including Buhari, while graduating in 1961; and the printout of a news report published on January 22, 2015 in respect of that set.
Also tendered was what was described as a Commandant of the United States Army War College letter dated June 3, 1980 addressed to Gen. Akinrinade in commendation of then Col. Buhari and a copy of Buhari’s curriculum vitae signed by him.
Buhari’s lawyer also tendered some newspapers.
He tendered 29 documents in all.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, objected to the admissibility of documents which he described as strange and not listed or pleaded earlier in the defence he filed in response to the petition.
Uzoukwu said he would give the full details of their objection in client’s final written address.
But lawyers representing INEC, Yunus Usman (SAN); and APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had no objection to the documents.
