A civil society organisation, Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy (CRPA), has called for the arrest of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for alleged forgery of his academic qualifications.
In a statement by its legal adviser, Agu Kalu, the organisation asked the inspector-general of police (IGP) to initiate criminal proceeding against Tinubu for allegedly submitting false information about his primary and secondary school certificates.
Kalu said, “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,” Kalu said.
“Since the IG is yet to act on the petition, we are using this press conference to call on the IG to do the needful. He is not above the law, 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 IG to arrest and prosecute Tinubu for perjury, it is a very serious issue.”
However, the director media of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Campaign Organisation,
Mr Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu is extremely qualified to stand for election, adding that the forgery allegations were false.
He said, “Asiwaju was exonerated in the house of assembly’s report because Senator Afikuyomi said he filled the form on his behalf then.
“The same certificate he gave to INEC this year, he used in 2003 and there was no issue then. Why are they raising issues now?
“What people don’t know is that when he was in exile, his house at Balarabe Musa Crescent in Surulere was burnt by the military and he couldn’t pick out a pin from the razed building.
“This was what happened that time and if in 2022, he (Tinubu) now drew blank on that session, what offence has he committed?”
