The Presidential Election Petition Court has upheld the defence that President Bola Tinubu was not convicted and that the $460,000 narcotics fine was a civil matter
The court upheld arguments by his lawyers that checks on the criminal record of Tinubu in the National Crime Information Centre NCIS which is the repository of data of all those linked to criminal activities in the United States, turned out negative
The court also held the view that forfeiture is a unique remedy not requiring conviction, which is applied in civil cases
Maintains that what the Nigerian constitution in section 137 contemplates is sentence or fine based on conviction flowing from a criminal trial
Holds that the ground of disqualification of Tinubu based on the fine of $460,000 does not qualify as a sentence of fine and dishonesty as spelt out in section 137 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution
