Tinubu’s primary school never existed, group tells court
18th January 2023
Bola Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu

By
Friday Olokor

A human rights organisation under the aegis of the Incorporated Trustees of Advocacy for Social Right Advancement and Development Initiative has told Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of a Federal High Court in Abuja, that the St. Paul Aroloya Primary School in Lagos which the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, claimed to have attended was never in existence.

The organisation, therefore, said that Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, should be tried for perjury.

Meanwhile, ASRADI has secured an order of the court to bring an application seeking to compel the Inspector-General of Police to investigate Tinubu over allegations bordering on perjury.

Justice Olajuwon made the order while ruling in the exparte application brought by the ASRADI against the IGP.

KanwuliaExtra:
The more you dig into this case. . .the more it becomes mind-boggling?

No evidence Nigerian presidential candidate Bola Tinubu claimed to have graduated from well-known Lagos school 4 years before it was established

IN SHORT: As election fever spreads across Nigeria, claims about the candidates vying for president are heating up too. Numerous posts on social media claim the ruling party’s Bola Tinubu has said he attended a prestigious college in Lagos but that it must be a lie, as he says he graduated four years before the school was founded. But there’s no evidence for this.

A message circulating on social media claims Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling party, has said he graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970.

The only problem? That’s four years before the school was founded.

“Tinubu according to his INEC form graduated in 1970 from Government college Lagos, 4yrs before the school was established in 1974!!” one Facebook post, published 20 November 2022, reads.

There are dozens of other posts with different versions of the same claim on Facebook, including here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Many of the posts include a photo of a notice board displaying the names of the school’s “principals since inception” in September 1974.

“INEC form” refers to the form filled in by candidates contesting Nigeria’s elections. It is submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC. Nigeria is set to hold general elections in February 2023.

Tinubu’s background and schooling have been controversial since he was governor of Lagos state, between 1999 and 2007.

The controversy has been well reported in the media over the years. Rumours include allegations that Tinubu falsely claimed he attended St Paul Children’s Home School and secondary education at Government College, both in Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria.

But has Tinubu said he graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970?

TinubuCollege_False

Claim not supported by available information
Contrary to the claim, the INEC form filled in by Tinubu contains no information about his primary and secondary education.

He only stated that he had a bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University, United States, and submitted an affidavit that said his credentials were stolen while he was in exile from Nigeria between 1993 and 1998.

Tinubu’s campaign has insisted he does not have to provide any information to prove he had primary and secondary education.

Where did this Government College-story come from?
There are no media reports of Tinubu ever claiming to have graduated from Government College Lagos.

The school was only mentioned in a document reportedly filed by lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah, along with three criminal complaints, at the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 6 in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The suit alleges that Tinubu gave false information and forged documents to the INEC.

The lawyer claimed he had subpoenaed Chicago State University through a colleague and received documents relating to Tinubu.

Enahoro-Enah said the documents show that the “Bola Tinubu” who graduated from Chicago State University was a woman born in 1954, two years after the presidential candidate’s official birth date, who graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970.

The suit, reportedly filed on 10 November 2022, has yet to be heard in court at time of writing.

But the claim that the INEC form filled in by Tinubu says he graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970 is false.

ElSudani:


You just have to continue digging. Just like sisyphus in Greek mythology you can dig till eternity.

FLASHBACK: How Late Gani Fawehinmi Sued Tinubu For Lying Under Oath He Attended Government College Ibadan, University Of Chicago

Sahara Reporters, New York
NEWS
Tinubu had made the claim of loss of certificates in his filings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1999 and 2003 when he ran for governor of Lagos State.

On October 7, 1999, the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) filed an order at the Federal High Court, Lagos to compel security operatives to investigate criminal allegations which he made against the then governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu had made the claim of loss of certificates in his filings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1999 and 2003 when he ran for governor of Lagos State.




He however stated in 1999 that he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, from 1958 to 1964 and Government College, Ibadan (GCI) from1965 to 1968 before proceeding to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971 and the University of Chicago.

Fawehinmi in the court documents had filed an order of mandamus praying the court to compel security operatives to investigate the allegations against Tinubu who had earlier been cleared by the Lagos House of Assembly.


“AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS compelling the respondents whether, by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or otherwise however to investigate the applicant’s complaint of false statements on oath and false declarations made under oath by Mr Bola Tinubu as contained in the two documents, that is: Independent National Electoral Commission Form CF001 declared and verified under Oath by Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now Governor of Lagos State) before the Commissioner for Oaths at the High Court Registry, Ikeja on December 28, 1998,” the court document had read.

“And Affidavit entitled; Affidavit in respect of Lost Certificates sworn to by Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now Governor of Lagos State) before the Commissioner for Oath at the High Court Registry, Ikeja on December 29, 1998.”


The Federal High court in its judgement however ruled that Tinubu as then sitting governor could not be tried as he enjoyed immunity from prosecution. The Appeal Court also upheld the judgement of the lower court.

The late legal luminary then headed to the Supreme Court and the apex court ruled that though Tinubu enjoyed immunity from prosecution, he could be investigated by the police over the allegation and tried after his tenure.

However, 15 years after his tenure as the governor of Lagos state, the Nigeria Police Force has refused to charge him as ruled by the Supreme Court.

In 2013, one Dr. Dominic Adegbola filed an unsuccessful application seeking to reopen the suit.

The late Adegbola had sought an order compelling the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to commence an investigation into the alleged case of certificate forgery.

Dismissing the application, Justice Saliu Saidu held that, by Order 34, Rule 4 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, the applicant failed to satisfy the mandatory requirements of the law.

Justice Saidu also held that such an application should have been filed before the court within three months when the alleged fraudulent act was detected.

According to the judge, since the application was not brought within the stipulated time, as mandated by the rules of court, it was bound to “hit the rocks”.

Though Tinubu later presented a certificate indicating he attended Chicago State University but SaharaReporters learnt that had never been the issue in contention as raised by the late legal luminary, Fawehinmi.

The issue raised by the late lawyer was about what he (Tinubu) filled in the INEC form F001 he submitted to the electoral body as his academic qualifications in 1998 which included the claim that he attended the University of Chicago and not Chicago State University.

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois while on the other hand, Chicago State University is a predominantly Black, public university in Chicago, Illinois that is not highly regarded.

Also challenged was what he filled in the INEC form that he attended St. Paul’s School Aroloya, Lagos for his primary education, which does not exist; University of Chicago; Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1968, which the authorities and Old Boys Association of Government College, Ibadan debunked.