One Mike Enahoro-Ebah, a legal practitioner, has instituted a legal action against Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for allegedly falsifying his age and certificates.
In the cases marked CR/121/2022, CR/122/2022, and CR/123/2022, respectively, Tinubu is the only defendant.
The lawyer sued the APC candidate in three separate direct criminal complaints filed at the chief magistrate’s court sitting in Wuse zone 6, Abuja.
The lawyer alleged that Tinubu presented “a forged Chicago State University certificate to INEC with the intent that it may be acted upon as genuine, thereby committing 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”.
He said a copy of the university certificate which he obtained “is radically different” from the copy attached to Tinubu’s sworn Form EC-9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on June 17.
“Curiously, the information contained in the documents and school records received from Chicago State University contradicts material information provided by the defendant in his sworn Form EC-9 submitted to INEC,” he alleged.
He also alleged that the Bola Tinubu that attended Chicago State University was born in 1954 as against the APC presidential candidate who claimed in his form EC-9 submitted to INEC to be born in 1952.
He also alleged that 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.
According to the plaintiff, a direct examination of the two certificates showed that they were issued by the university on separate dates (June 22, 1979, and June 27, 1979), have distinct university logos on the front of the certificates, have different signatures, among other differences.
The lawyer further alleged that the Tinubu that attended the university 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.
The lawyer said it is in the best interest of justice and equity to issue criminal summons to ensure Tinubu’s attendance in court to answer to the complaints.
The case, which is before Emmanuel Iyanna, chief magistrate, is yet to be scheduled for hearing.