Group urges Buhari, IGP to arrest, prosecute Tinubu over alleged perjury

A civil society group, Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to arrest and prosecute the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 Presidential election, Senator Bola Tinubu, for allegedly supplying false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tinubu, according to the group, lied in his EC9 form published by INEC on Friday when he claimed that he did not attend both primary and secondary school.

The group claimed that the submission of Tinubu contradicted earlier claims, particularly, the information he gave to the electoral umpire in 1999 in his form CF 001.

Legal Adviser of the group, Kalu Agu, at a press briefing in Abuja, said that the alleged offence is serious because it breaches both the Constitution and electoral laws.

Kalu disclosed that the group is drawing attention to the issue because the police were yet to respond to its petition since June 16, 2022.

“We wrote a petition to the IG on June 16, demanding the prosecution of Tinubu for providing false information on oath in his INEC form CF 001, which he submitted in 1999.

“Since the IGP is yet to act on the petition, we are using this medium to call on the IGP to do the needful because he is not above the law and nobody is above the law. Sections 191 and 192 make it a criminal offence to provide false information on oath.

“We are also calling on President Buhari to direct the IGP to arrest and prosecute Tinubu for perjury, it is a very serious issue,” Kalu said.

He added that in the event Buhari and IGP fail to do the needful, the group in conjunction with other civil groups will approach a court of law for judicial review and order of mandamus to order the IGP to do the needful.

While explaining that the position of his group for the arrest of Tinubu was not politically motivated but based on the need for good governance and transparent leadership Nigeria deserves in the 2023 general election, he stated that the former Lagos State Governor is not legally qualified to become the next president of Nigeria on the grounds of supplying false information on oath in his form EC 9 submitted to INEC.

According to him, Tinubu had in 1999, claimed to have attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School, Ibadan between 1958 and 1964 and Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1969, but turned around in 2022, to say that he never attended any primary or secondary school in his EC9 form.

Agu, who presented the ad-hoc report of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which investigated the former governor in 1999 pointed out that Tinubu clearly admitted discrepancies in his academic qualifications.

He said that the investigation of Tinubu’s academic qualification was the aftermath of a petition written by a foremost legal luminary and social crusader, Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN).

Among vital documents attached to the petition delivered to the IGP and acknowledged by his office are the forms submitted to INEC by Tinubu in 1999 and 2022 for verification.