On Friday night, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, made a formal request to the Supreme Court.
He sought permission to introduce new evidence aimed at substantiating his claim that President Tinubu had submitted a counterfeit certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The evidence Atiku wished to present included academic records from Chicago State University, which had been provided to him just days earlier.
Atiku based his request on legal provisions such as Order 2, Rule 12(1) of the Supreme Court Rules 1985, Section 137(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended), and the inherent jurisdiction of the court granted by Section 6(6)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended).
Dated October 5 but filed on October 6, Atiku’s application specifically asked the apex court for permission to present new and additional evidence.
This evidence consisted of a sworn deposition from Caleb Westberg, representing Chicago State University, dated October 3, 2023.
In this deposition, Chicago State University disavowed the certificate submitted by the 2nd respondent, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
