Tinubu’s Certificate: Admitting fresh evidence to Supreme Court will be difficult – Ubani

A former Chairman of the Section of Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) of the Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani, believes that it will be difficult for the Supreme Court to admit new evidence in the appeal of the presidential election petition tribunal’s decision.

He was responding to the case filed in the United States by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar. In this case, Atiku sought the release of President Bola Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University due to suspicions that the certificate submitted by the President to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) might not be genuine.

“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.

Ubani made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, saying, “The Supreme Court will never, even the Court of Appeal will not 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 legal representatives, opposed Atiku’s request for his records. However, the US court eventually mandated CSU to furnish Atiku with the President’s academic records, as Atiku stated he required them for his appeal in the Supreme Court.

Ubani remarked that it will be an uphill battle for Atiku’s legal team to persuade the Supreme Court to accept new evidence in the appeal of the election tribunal’s decision, as the highest court will solely be reviewing the lower court’s ruling.

The seasoned lawyer pointed out that Tinubu’s legal team will contest the admissibility of new evidence. He added that the court may ultimately exercise its discretionary authority to determine whether or not to allow the introduction of fresh evidence in the case.

“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,” he said.

Confirming Tinubu’s victory on September 6, the tribunal determined that the petitioner, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with its candidate Atiku Abubakar, failed to sufficiently substantiate the allegations on this specific ground, as well as on all other grounds in their petition.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, leader of the five-man panel, said, “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”

The court also removed 37 exhibits presented by the witnesses from the official records of the court.