Senate Majority Leader, Michael Bamidele, testified on Wednesday at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, stating that there were no criminal charges against President Bola Tinubu in any United States court. Acting as the sole witness, Bamidele clarified that the $460,000 forfeiture order issued by an American court was related to a civil matter and should not be misconstrued as criminal charges.Bamidele emphasized that for criminal charges to be pursued, a conviction and sentence must be established in accordance with the law. In addition to this testimony, Bamidele revealed that the All Progressives Congress had recorded a shortfall of 10,292 votes against Tinubu in the presidential election results for Kano State on February 25.President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress successfully concluded their defense in response to the joint petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi. Their legal team, led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN (representing Tinubu and Shettima), and Lateef Fagbemi, SAN (representing the APC), presented various documents and called a witness to support their counter-arguments against the allegations raised by the petitioners.Despite objections from the petitioners, the five-man panel of the court, presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted the documents as evidence and marked them as exhibits. The court granted the respondents 10 days to file their final written addresses, the petitioners seven days to respond, and five days for the respondents to reply on points of law. The date for the adoption of the final written addresses will be communicated to the parties by Justice Tsammani.During cross-examination by Fagbemi, SAN, counsel for the APC, Bamidele informed the court that Peter Obi’s name was not included in the membership list of the Labour Party submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.Additional documents admitted as evidence during the proceedings included correspondence between the Nigeria Police and the United States Embassy, dated February 3 and 4, 2003, respectively, as well as US visas and immigration documents spanning from 2011 to 2021.In a related development, President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and the APC also concluded their defense in response to the joint petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The petitioners alleged non-compliance with electoral laws, including the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit the election results electronically using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System and the INEC Results Viewing portal. They also argued that the president failed to obtain at least 25 percent of votes from the Federal Capital Territory, contrary to legal provisions.In their defense, the respondents presented various documents and called a witness before closing their case. Similar to the previous petition, the court allowed the parties specific time frames to submit their final written addresses, respond, and reply on points of law.Under cross-examination by Fagbemi, SAN, Bamidele confirmed that President Tinubu had not been charged with any criminal offenses by any American court. This statement referred to the widely circulated court affidavit from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, regarding civil forfeiture proceedings involving $460,000. The witness emphasized that a charge, arraignment, and defense were necessary for a conviction to occur, and President Tinubu had not faced such criminal charges in the United States.Furthermore, Bamidele responded to questions from counsel for the PDP and Atiku, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, stating that scoring 25 percent of the votes in Abuja was not a mandatory requirement forSenate Majority Leader, Michael Bamidele, testified on Wednesday before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, providing crucial insights into the legal situation surrounding President Bola Tinubu. Bamidele, serving as the sole witness, categorically stated that President Tinubu has not faced any criminal charges in any United States court, effectively dispelling speculation and rumors to the contrary.Bamidele reiterated that the $460,000 forfeiture order issued by an American court pertained to a civil matter and should not be misconstrued as evidence of criminal charges against President Tinubu. He emphasized that, according to legal requirements, a conviction and sentence are necessary to establish criminal charges, neither of which have been levied against the President.During his testimony, Bamidele also shed light on the electoral situation in Kano State, revealing that the All Progressives Congress experienced a shortfall of 10,292 votes for President Tinubu during the February 25 presidential election.In a separate development, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress successfully concluded their defense in response to a joint petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi. Led by legal representatives Wole Olanipekun, SAN (representing Tinubu and Shettima), and Lateef Fagbemi, SAN (representing the APC), the defense team presented a series of documents and called witnesses to challenge the petitioners’ claims.Despite objections raised by the petitioners, the court, headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted the submitted documents as evidence and assigned them exhibit numbers. The court granted the respondents a period of 10 days to file their final written addresses, followed by seven days for the petitioners to respond, and an additional five days for the respondents to reply on points of law. The date for the adoption of the final written addresses will be communicated to the involved parties in due course.During cross-examination by Fagbemi, SAN, who represented the APC, Bamidele clarified that Peter Obi’s name did not appear on the membership list of the Labour Party submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.Notably, various documents were admitted into evidence during the proceedings, including correspondence exchanged between the Nigeria Police and the United States Embassy in February 2003. Additionally, US visas and immigration documents spanning from 2011 to 2021 were also submitted and accepted as evidence.Similarly, President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and the APC concluded their defense in response to a joint petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The petitioners alleged non-compliance with electoral laws, including the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit election results electronically using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System and the INEC Results Viewing portal. They further contended that the President failed to secure at least 25 percent of votes from the Federal Capital Territory, contrary to legal provisions.The respondents, in their defense, presented various documents and called witnesses before formally closing their case. Following the same procedural framework as the previous petition, the court allowed specific time frames for the submission of final written addresses, response, and reply on points of law.When questioned by Fagbemi, SAN, Bamidele affirmed that President Tinubu had not been charged with any criminal offenses in any American court. He addressed the widely circulated court affidavit from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, which pertained to civil forfeiture proceedings involving $460,000. The witness emphasized that, for a conviction to occur, charges, arraignment, and defense are requisite components, none of which have been pursued against President Tinubu inSenate Majority Leader, Michael Bamidele, testified before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday, providing important clarifications regarding President Bola Tinubu’s legal situation. As the sole witness, Bamidele categorically stated that no criminal charges had been brought against President Tinubu in any United States court. He emphasized that a $460,000 forfeiture order issued by an American court was related to a civil matter and should not be misinterpreted as evidence of criminal charges.Bamidele further explained that, according to legal requirements, a conviction and sentence are necessary for criminal charges to be established, neither of which apply to President Tinubu. The witness also revealed that the All Progressives Congress experienced a shortfall of 10,292 votes for Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election in Kano State.In another development, President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress successfully concluded their defense in response to a joint petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi. Led by their legal representatives Wole Olanipekun, SAN (representing Tinubu and Shettima), and Lateef Fagbemi, SAN (representing the APC), the defense team presented various documents and witnesses to counter the claims made by the petitioners.Despite objections raised by the petitioners, the court, under the leadership of Justice Haruna Tsammani, admitted the submitted documents as evidence and assigned them exhibit numbers. The court granted the respondents 10 days to file their final written addresses, followed by seven days for the petitioners to respond, and an additional five days for the respondents to reply on points of law. The date for the adoption of the final written addresses will be communicated to the parties involved in due course.During cross-examination by Fagbemi, SAN, representing the APC, Bamidele clarified that Peter Obi’s name was not included in the membership list of the Labour Party submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.Several documents were also admitted as evidence during the proceedings, including correspondence between the Nigeria Police and the United States Embassy in February 2003. Additionally, US visas and immigration documents covering the period from 2011 to 2021 were submitted and accepted as evidence.Likewise, President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and the APC concluded their defense in response to a joint petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The petitioners alleged non-compliance with electoral laws, including the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit election results electronically using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System and the INEC Results Viewing portal. They further argued that President Tinubu failed to secure at least 25 percent of votes from the Federal Capital Territory, contrary to legal provisions.In their defense, the respondents presented various documents and witnesses before formally closing their case. Following the same procedural framework as the previous petition, the court allowed specific time frames for the submission of final written addresses, response, and reply on points of law.When questioned by Fagbemi, SAN, Bamidele affirmed that no criminal charges had been filed against President Tinubu in any American court. He addressed a widely circulated court affidavit from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, which pertained to civil forfeiture proceedings involving $460,000. The witness stressed that, for a conviction to occur, charges, arraignment, and defense are essential elements, none of which have been pursued against President Tinubu in the United States.