The Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has admitted that the $460,000 that President Bola Tinubu forfeited to the United States came from a narcotics business and money laundering.
Bamidele made this known while appearing as the first witness for Tinubu in the suit challenging his victory before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) which was instituted by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi.
During cross-examination by Obi’s lawyers, Bamidele admitted that Tinubu indeed forfeited over $460,000 in illicit drug proceeds. The case occurred in the United States in the 1990s when Tinubu was living in Chicago.
The President had declined to address the forfeiture for several years, despite its domination of headlines in the run-up to the presidential election on February 25.
Livy Uzoukwu, the lead counsel to Obi, asked whether or not Bamidele knew that the forfeiture was connected to narcotics dealing, to which he responded yes.
He also responded that he understood there was money laundering involved in Tinubu’s matter prior to the final forfeiture.
Bamidele appeared to be the most high-profile associate of Tinubu to confirm the forfeiture and narcotics background of the former Lagos governor.
Earlier, Tinubu presented 18 documents which were adopted by the tribunal in defence of the suit challenging the outcome of the February 25 election in which he was declared the winner.
The documents include a letter from former Inspector General of Police, Tarfa Balogun to the US Embassy in Nigeria dated February 3, 2003; a letter from the US Embassy dated February 4, 2003; and a bundle of Tinubu’s educational records from the Chicago State University certified by Jamar C. Orr, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legal Affairs, Chicago State University, Chicago.
Other documents are data pages of international passport showing travels to the US from 2011 to 2023, Labour Party (LP)’s forwarding letter for the submission of membership registration dated April 25, 2022; LP’s register of members for Anambra State, and a copy of the report of the Committee On The Location of the FCT and Historical Bureau.
Tinubu’s also tendered a copy of form EC8D for Kano State in respect of the presidential election of Feb. 25, 2023; acknowledgement copy of Shettima’s voluntary withdrawal of candidacy from Borno Central Senatorial District election dated July 6, 2022; judgment of the Supreme Court in SC/CV/501/2023 PDP vs INEC and 3 others delivered on May 26, 2023; copy of page 28 of the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper of 23rd February, 2023; copy of page 27 of the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper of 23rd February, 2023.
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