The internet has been inundated with numerous questions rather than answers in the wake of the release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the PEPC judgment that confirmed Bola Tinubu as the President. On all online pages displaying the CTCs, a header reading “Tinubu Presidential Legal Team” was consistently present. This has led to many speculations, with some suggesting that the judgment may have been prepared or scanned by the President’s legal team.
Babatunde Ogala SAN, a member of the President’s legal team has offered some clarification:
Following some mischievous insinuations being made in certain quarters regarding the innocuous water-mark of copies of the consolidated judgment of the Court of Appeal with the inscription -“Tinubu Presidential Legal Team ‘TPLT’”, it has become necessary to offer this clarification.
After the delivery of judgment in the 3 (Three) election petitions by the Court of Appeal on September 6, 2023, the Court directed its registry to make physical copies of same available on September 7, 2023.
Accordingly, the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team applied for a certified true copy of the said judgment and paid the prescribed fee.
Lawyers for PDP were present at the registry at the same time to collect the same judgment.
In fact, the representative of the PDP collected the first copy that was made available by the registry.
On collecting our own copy, we immediately scanned and water-marked with the inscription – “Tinubu Presidential Legal Team ‘TPLT’” before circulating the scanned soft copies to the lawyers in our team.
The certified true copies issued to us and other parties in the petitions by the registry do not contain the said inscription and any insinuation to the contrary is untrue.
Counsel to the petitioners will also appreciate the fact that the insinuations being circulated in some quarters are untrue, unkind, unfair, and unfortunate, as they have the same certified copies of the judgment as we have.
Babatunde OGALA, SAN; OFR.
Coordinator, TPLT