posted October 23, 2023
Nigeria’s Supreme Court has revealed the existence of conflicting letters from Chicago State University (CSU) regarding President Bola Tinubu’s certificate. Justice John Okoro, heading the 7-member panel overseeing Atiku Abubakar’s application against President Bola Tinubu, stated this on Monday in the legal case involving Tinubu, Atiku and CSU regarding President Tinubu’s academic credentials.
For a background, it would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the February presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), are contesting the election results in court for the Elections petitions tribunal to the Supreme court, specifically alleging that President Tinubu had submitted fake academic documents to INEC.
Atiku sought to present additional evidence to support his claim that President Tinubu had submitted fake documents. He requested President Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University (CSU) to substantiate this allegation.
The timing became a contextual issue because the release of the requested documents from CSU occurred after the 180-day statutory period for filing and determining an election petition had passed. This raised questions about whether the new evidence could be admitted.
But Atiku argued that the submission of forged documents by a candidate, especially one running for the highest office in the country, is a serious constitutional matter and should not be condoned. He urged the court to allow his appeal to present the new evidence.
President Tinubu counter-argued and opposed Atiku’s request, asserting that it constituted an abuse of the court process. He argued that the matter falls under pre-election issues and requested the court to reject the application.
The foregoing concerns are the what the Justices are to determine. During a hearing on Monday, Justice John Okoro, heading the panel overseeing the case, raised concerns about conflicting letters from CSU. One letter authenticated President Tinubu’s certificate, while another discredited it. This raised questions about which letter should be relied upon in the case.
As it is now, the case seems to revolve around the admissibility of new evidence and whether the alleged forgery of academic documents by a presidential candidate is a matter that should be addressed by the court, considering the timing and the conflicting letters from CSU. The court will need to weigh these arguments and determine the way forward.
However, the Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the appeal by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.