CSO Asks IGP To Arrest Tinubu Within 48 hours See Why

The Center for Reform and Public Advocacy has set the Inspector-General of Police a 48-hour deadline to arrest and charge Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, for allegedly providing bogus academic qualifications to earn the nomination.

The organization threatened that if the IGP did not act, a court action would be filed against him seeking an order of mandamus requiring him to arrest Tinubu at the end of the deadline.

Agu Kalu, the CRPA’s Legal Adviser and a human rights lawyer, delivered the threat during a news conference in Abuja on Saturday.

When approached, the Director (Legal Directorate), Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), said they were ready to defend themselves against the threats and claims.

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He underlined that the APC presidential candidate had properly complied with the Electoral Act.

He said, “There is nothing to respond to them, the Electoral Act is clear. We are waiting, let them go, let them bring the writ, we will defend it. I think we have gone past this stage of some people on social media, for whatever reason in the media, issuing threats.

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“If they have anything, let them bring it. As far as we are concerned, our candidate has complied fully with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

If they want to go to court, let them go to court. But we must also let them know that we are not unconscious of the laws of defamation in the country.

We know the difference between a court process that is privileged and making unfounded allegations in the Newspapers like they are doing now.

“But honestly, our candidate is not perturbed, he can’t be bothered by all these threats. If they want to go to court, let them go to court. When they come, we will react appropriately to the court process. What we know, we have complied fully with the provisions of the law and we will not be blackmailed and intimidated.”

Kalu said that the former Lagos State governor was not constitutionally qualified to be Nigeria’s next President in 2023 because he provided fraudulent information under oath in his form EC 9 to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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The legal practitioner claimed, among other things, that in 1999 Bola Tinubu claimed to have attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School in Ibadan between 1958 and 1964.

And Government College in Ibadan between 1965 and 1969, only to claim in 2022 that he never attended any primary or secondary school in his EC9 form.

He 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.

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“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 makes 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.”

He stated that if Buhari and the IG fail to act, the group, along with other civil organisations, will petition a court of law for judicial review and an order of mandamus compelling the IG to act.

Tinubu clearly recognized flaws in his academic qualifications, according to Kalu, who provided a Certified True Copy ad hoc report of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which probed the former governor in 1999.

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He said that the probe into Tinubu’s academic qualifications began in 1999 as a result of a petition made by late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a leading legal luminary and social crusader (SAN).

According to him, the CRPA petition demanding for Tinubu’s arrest and prosecution had been sent to the IGP since June 16. And lamented that the police authority had not judged it proper to achieve his arrest until now.

Under the constitution, no one is above the law, according to Kalu. And the police must carry out their constitutional duties without fear or favor.

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The activist stated that if he is proven to have brought false claims against Tinubu, the police should arrest him and charge him appropriately in court.

The Abuja lawyer added that his group’s plea for Tinubu’s arrest was not politically driven. But rather based on the necessity for good governance and transparent leadership in Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general election.

The forms Tinubu submitted to INEC for verification in 1999 and 2022 were among the key documents attached to the petition delivered to the IGP and acknowledged by his office.