A human rights defender and a lawyer, Mike Enahoro-Ebah, has dragged the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to court, claiming to have evidences that the former governor of Lagos state falsified his school certificate and age.
Enahoro-Ebah sued Tinubu in three separate direct criminal complaints filed at the Chief Magistrate Court sitting at Wuse Zone 6, Abuja.
The matters, dated November 9 and filed on November 10, 2022 by the lawyer himself were brought pursuant to Sections 88(1), 89(3), 109(A), 110(C) and 115(1)(B) and 119 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; under the inherent jurisdiction and powers of the court secured by Section 6(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He alleged that Tinubu lied on oath and falsely sworn an affidavit in support of his personal particulars (Form EC-9) submitted to INEC on June 17, 2022.
In case number: CR/121/2022, Enahoro-Ebah alleged that Tinubu presented “a forged Chicago State University Certificate to INEC with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine, thereby committed the offence of forgery contrary to Sections 362(a), 363 and 364 of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
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He said he applied, through his colleague, Mathew J. Kowals, a Chicago-based legal practitioner, who issued an attorney subpoena on his behalf against the university in case number: 22-L-007289 on August 12, directing the school to mail him (Kowals) all documents and records pertaining to Tinubu in their possession.
The lawyer said copies of Chicago State University Certificate, academic records, undergraduate admission application form, University of Cambridge General Certificate of Education, and copy of Southwest College Transcript (now City College of Chicago) were later sent to him which he attached to the court documents as exhibits.
“Curiously, the information contained in the documents and school records received from Chicago State University contradict material information provided by the defendant in his sworn Form EC-9 submitted to INEC,” he said.
Enahoro-Ebah alleged that the Bola Tinubu that attended Chicago State University was born in 1954 and not 1952 as claimed by the APC presidential candidate on oath in his sworn Form EC-9 submitted to INEC.
He alleged that the copy of the Chicago State University Certificate released by the school “is radically different” from the copy attached to Tinubu’s sworn Form EC-9 submitted to INEC on June 17.
According to him, a direct comparison of both certificates reveal different dates of issue by the university (June 22, 1979 and June 27, 1979); different university logo on both certificates; different grammatical construction on faces of the certificates, different signatures, among others.
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He said in support of the defendant’s undergraduate admission application form submitted to Chicago State University in 1977, was a transcript from Southwest College, Chicago, bearing the name, “Tinubu Bola A” which belongs to a female student, contrary to Form EC-9 submitted to INEC which indicated that Tinubu is a man.
He further alleged that the Tinubu that attended the university indicated in his undergraduate admission application form that he graduated from Government College, Lagos in 1970, while the defendant in his Form EC-9 submitted to INEC provided no information as to his attendance of the said Government College, Lagos, among other allegations.
He said it was in the best interest of Nigeria, justice and equity to issue criminal summons to ensure Tinubu’s attendance in court to answer the complaints.
The case, which is before Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna, is yet to be scheduled for hearing.