The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, is currently being trolled over his primary and secondary school certificates.
Newsflash Nigeria reports that arguments about Tinubu’s school certificates began again just barely eight months before the 2023 general elections, which will produce the next president of Nigeria.
The former governor of Lagos State was subjected to mockery on and off social media after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s primary school photo surfaced on the internet.
It was observed that while presidential candidates submitted their documents as required by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu did not submit his primary and secondary school certificates to the electoral body.
The development has since stirred arguments among stakeholders and concerned Nigerians.
Newsflash Nigeria understands that Tinubu had, in an affidavit submitted to INEC as part of his eligibility filings for the 2023 presidential elections, claimed that unknown persons stole his school certificates during the military regime.
The documents made public last Friday showed that Tinubu left the columns for his primary and secondary education unmarked.
A report, however, by SaharaReporters, showed that the APC national leader’s latest claims contradicted his previous election submission in 1999 when he contested as Lagos State Governor.
Tinubu had claimed in the previous contests that he attended primary and secondary schools and was certificated.
The former governor noted that he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, between 1958 and 1964, while his secondary education was at Government College Ibadan (GCI), between 1965 and 1968.
The controversies about the former governor’s certificates, however, started no later than 1999, as revealed in the documents by SaharaReporters.
According to the report, one Alhaji Jameed Seriki far back on August 12, 1999, wrote a petition accusing Tinubu of perjury and forging the credentials that qualified him to run for the gubernatorial election in Lagos State.
It was stated in the allegation that there was a discrepancy in the governor’s age since the profile published during his inauguration said that he was born in 1952, and the age on his transcript at the Chicago State University claimed that he was born in 1954.
“That the governor did not attend Government College, Ibadan, as was stated in his profile and INEC FORM CF.001.
“The governor did not attend the University of Chicago as claimed in INEC FORM CF, and an affidavit was sworn to at the Ikeja High Court of Justice on 29th December 1998,” Seriki had claimed in the petition.
Consequently, the then Lagos Speaker, Olorunimbe Mamora, on Tuesday, September 21, 1999, set up a five-person ad hoc committee to investigate the allegations and report back to the House.
The committee comprised Hon. Babajide Omoworare (Chairman), Hon. Thomas Ayodele Fadeyi, Hon. Adeniyi Akinmade, Hon. Ibrahim Gbola Gbabijo and Hon Saliu Olaitan Mustapha.
On October 7, 1999, the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) filed an order at the Federal High Court, Lagos to compel security operatives to investigate criminal allegations which he made against the then governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu had made the claim of loss of certificates in his filings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1999 and 2003 when he ran for governor of Lagos State.
He however stated in 1999 that he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, from 1958 to 1964 and Government College, Ibadan (GCI) from1965 to 1968 before proceeding to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971 and the University of Chicago.
Fawehinmi in the court documents had filed an order of mandamus praying the court to compel security operatives to investigate the allegations against Tinubu who had earlier been cleared by the Lagos House of Assembly.
“AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS compelling the respondents whether, by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or otherwise however to investigate the applicant’s complaint of false statements on oath and false declarations made under oath by Mr Bola Tinubu as contained in the two documents, that is: Independent National Electoral Commission Form CF001 declared and verified under Oath by Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now Governor of Lagos State) before the Commissioner for Oaths at the High Court Registry, Ikeja on December 28, 1998,” the court document had read.
“And Affidavit entitled; Affidavit in respect of Lost Certificates sworn to by Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now Governor of Lagos State) before the Commissioner for Oath at the High Court Registry, Ikeja on December 29, 1998.”
The Federal High court in its judgement however ruled that Tinubu as then sitting governor could not be tried as he enjoyed immunity from prosecution. The Appeal Court also upheld the judgement of the lower court.
The late legal luminary then headed to the Supreme Court and the apex court ruled that though Tinubu enjoyed immunity from prosecution, he could be investigated by the police over the allegation and tried after his tenure.
However, 15 years after his tenure as the governor of Lagos state, the Nigeria Police Force has refused to charge him as ruled by the Supreme Court.
In 2013, one Dr. Dominic Adegbola filed an unsuccessful application seeking to reopen the suit.
The late Adegbola had sought an order compelling the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to commence an investigation into the alleged case of certificate forgery.
Dismissing the application, Justice Saliu Saidu held that, by Order 34, Rule 4 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, the applicant failed to satisfy the mandatory requirements of the law.
Justice Saidu also held that such an application should have been filed before the court within three months when the alleged fraudulent act was detected.
According to the judge, since the application was not brought within the stipulated time, as mandated by the rules of court, it was bound to “hit the rocks”.
Though Tinubu later presented a certificate indicating he attended Chicago State University but SaharaReporters learnt that had never been the issue in contention as raised by the late legal luminary, Fawehinmi.
The issue raised by the late lawyer was about what he (Tinubu) filled in the INEC form F001 he submitted to the electoral body as his academic qualifications in 1998 which included the claim that he attended the University of Chicago and not Chicago State University.
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois while on the other hand, while Chicago State University is a predominantly Black, public university in Chicago, Illinois that is not highly regarded.
Also challenged was what he filled in the INEC form that he attended St. Paul’s School Aroloya, Lagos for his primary education, which does not exist; University of Chicago; Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1968, which the authorities and Old Boys Association of Government College, Ibadan debunked.
