Breaking News: Scrutiny Mounts Over Inclusion of Tinubu’s Legal Team Watermark on PEPC Certified True Copies – Atiku Camp Raises Queries

The legal team representing the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has raised significant concerns with the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) regarding the presence of Certified True Copies of the court’s judgment bearing the watermark of the Bola Tinubu Presidential Legal Team.

Recent reports have cast doubt on the impartiality of the tribunal’s ruling, suggesting a possible bias in favor of President Bola Tinubu due to the unexpected appearance of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team watermark on copies circulating on social media platforms.

However, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), the coordinator of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, issued a statement on Saturday vehemently denying any compromise of the judgment’s integrity.

Ogala clarified that the watermark was applied by their team after obtaining their own copies of the consolidated judgment from the Court of Appeal.

Furthermore, Ogala elaborated that representatives of the PDP were present at the court registry when they collected clean copies of the tribunal’s ruling, and, in fact, they were the first to secure copies of the judgment from the court.

In an official statement provided to Naija News, Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant (Communications) to Atiku, emphasized the importance of the PEPC providing an explanation for affixing the Respondents’ header on the Certified True Copy (CTC) of their judgment while the copies provided to the petitioners lacked this feature.

Shaibu questioned whether this was an indication of preferential treatment for the Tinubu Legal Team, demanding clarity from the court. He remarked, “Did the Tinubu Legal Team receive special privileges? The court must account for this!”

Shaibu further queried the PEPC’s decision to grant the Respondents, particularly the Tinubu Legal Team, access to the CTC of the judgment before the Plaintiffs.

He stated, “The curiosity deepens, especially considering that Atiku and the PDP’s lead counsel had formally requested swift access to the judgment, a request to which Justice Haruna Tsammani had agreed. This document was supposed to be made available the following day.”

Shaibu expressed concerns over the PEPC’s language during the judgment, describing it as vexatious and denigrating toward the petitioners. He suggested that recent developments raised suspicions about potential collaboration between the PEPC and the Tinubu Legal Team, questioning how the “Tinubu Presidential Legal Team” header had found its way into an official document of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria.

Shaibu clarified the distinction between a header and a watermark, stating, “A header is text positioned at the top of a page, while a watermark is a subtle design visible when held against the light, typically identifying the document’s maker.”

He continued, “The PEPC must provide a credible explanation for why it placed the Tinubu Legal Team’s header on the CTC copy of its judgment document instead of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria’s stamp.”

Furthermore, Shaibu alleged that the PEPC had delayed providing the Petitioners with copies of the judgment after learning that the CTC copies with the Tinubu Legal Team header were circulating publicly.

He suggested that this delay was due to the need to remove the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team header from the documents before delivering them to Atiku’s legal team.

While the legal team for the PDP and Atiku had a statutory 14-day window to prepare their appeal to the Supreme Court, the PEPC’s actions had reduced this time frame by two days. Shaibu expressed concern over the potential implications of these actions on the credibility of the Nigerian judiciary.

He concluded by emphasizing the significance of this legal challenge, stating that it was not just about Atiku but about safeguarding the nation and its democracy in the face of institutional challenges and electoral controversies.

Shaibu underlined the importance of preserving the integrity of the judiciary, which stands as the last bastion of hope for the common citizen amidst the turmoil…[CONTINUE READING HERE]