INEC Claims They Were Not Aware Of Tinubu’s Drug-related Forfeiture Of $460,000 Before The 2023 Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) informed the Presidential Election Petitions Court in Abuja that they were not aware of a more than 20-year-old United States District Court judgment ordering President Bola Tinubu to forfeit $460,000, suspected to be proceeds of the narcotics trade, before the 2023 presidential election.

INEC’s lead counsel, A.B. Mahmoud SAN, stated in their final written address that the case was not brought to their attention by the petitioners prior to the election. The petition, filed by the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, sought the removal of President Tinubu based on various grounds, including the alleged disqualification due to the fine imposed on him by the US District Court.

The petitioners argued that the fine should disqualify Tinubu from contesting the presidency. However, Mahmoud pointed out that the 1999 Constitution stipulates that a fine as a disqualifying factor must be associated with a court sentence.

He argued that the US case against Tinubu was a civil forfeiture proceeding, not a criminal conviction. As such, the petitioners failed to provide evidence to prove their allegation, and Mahmoud urged the court to rule in favor of the respondents, asserting that Tinubu and Kashim Shettima were qualified to run for office.

The lawyers representing Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, and All Progressives Congress maintained that the US judgment was not a criminal conviction and emphasized that the alleged order of forfeiture was not enforceable in Nigeria and had been issued over 20 years ago.