Amid the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, there has been a rehash of allegations involving several candidates, with the most recent on Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Over the past days, court papers about a forfeiture case in the US linked to someone named “Bola Tinubu” surfaced online.

According to the documents on a case dating back to 1993, it is alleged that funds traced to the Tinubu in question are linked to proceeds of narcotics trafficking. The documents also show that the court ruled that the sum of $460,000 in one of the accounts be forfeited to the US government

Reacting to the documents, Festus Keyamo, spokesman of APC presidential campaign council, said the case didn’t prove that Tinubu was linked to illicit drugs, adding that the funds forfeited to the US were tax deductions.

“After all the rigamarole trying to find out whether the accounts where the money came from are linked to drugs, they came to the conclusion that the deposits he made — what these bankers called investments — they said he had not paid tax on these interests. That is all,” Keyamo said.

CAN INEC DISQUALIFY TINUBU?
Although Tinubu is yet to react directly to the court documents, there have been questions over if INEC has the power to disqualify Tinubu considering the issues raised on the 1993 case and the said indictment on links to illicit drugs.

Section 84(3) of the electoral act provides that: “A political party shall not impose nomination qualification or disqualification criteria, measures, or conditions on any aspirant or candidate for any election in its constitution, guidelines, or rules for nomination of candidates for elections, except as prescribed under sections 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 177 and 187 of the constitution.”

On the disqualification of a presidential candidate, section 137(1) of the constitution provides that:

“(a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country; or

“(b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections; or

“(c) under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind; or

“(d) he is under a sentence of death imposed by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or for any other offence, imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal; or

“(e) within a period of less than ten years before the date of the election to the office of President he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of the contravention of the Code of Conduct; or

“(f) he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Nigeria or any other country; or

“(g) being a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or of any State, he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days before the date of the election; or

“(h) he is a member of any secret society; or

“(i) he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry Law or any other law by the Federal or State Government which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or State Government, respectively; or

“(j) he has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

In 2007, Tinubu had a case before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) which he was not convicted for. If he was convicted, the law bars him from public office for 10 years. But it has been 15 years since that case was instituted against him.

Can INEC disqualify Tinubu? The entire provision of the Electoral Act 2022 doesn’t grant any such power to the body to undertake such function or action. Hence illegal. Only a court of law, via an election petition can do that.”

In the course of the disposition, the Certificate used by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to secure final clearance for participation in the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC which he claimed he obtained from Chicago State University (CSU)  was  debunked.

In this latest development, Caleb Westberg a Registrar in Chicago State University on Tuesday 3rd of October 2023 said that the replacement copy of the diploma certificate Tinubu submitted to the independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which he used to secure clearance for participation in the presidential election, was not issued by their Institution (CSU).

He however, states that a  replacement was indeed ordered, through CSU, and there is indeed an actual certificate in the student file named Bola A Tinubu, but, it is however still in the file because it was never picked up. Westberg speaking under oath further states that he is seeing the diploma certificate copy for the very first time.

Dual citizenship, or multiple citizenship, is when a single person is legally recognized as a citizen of two or more countries at the same time. Dual citizenship is permitted in Nigeria but persons with dual citizenship are barred and are constitutionally ineligible to run for the following offices: House of Representatives or Senate, Section 66(1)(a); House of Assembly, Section 107(1)(a); Office of the President, Section 137(1)(a); and Office of Governor, Section 182(1)(a). This is the position of the constitution!

However, the importance of this issue was raised ahead of the APC presidential primary last year when human rights activist, Mr Kayode Ajulo, wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on the danger of picking a candidate with dual citizenship or past criminal record.

In a letter titled, “Secret Memo to the President and Leadership of the APC on the Eligibility of Persons to Contest for the Office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” dated May 22, 2022, Ajulo said it was important for the APC to get its act together so that the party would not lose its deserved victory.

Ajulo asked the APC to take into consideration the 1999 Constitution specifically Chapter VI, Part 1, Section 131 and which outlines the basic requirements to be met by a candidate to be eligible for an election into the office of the President in Nigeria. Ajulo said, “Section 137 of the same constitution as amended, goes further to illuminate this matter by providing for several situations which doth render a candidate ineligible to be elected as the President, stating that a candidate will be ineligible: If he/she has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or has declared allegiance to such other country.”

In a July 31, 2017 article titled, “Can A Political Leader Hold Dual Citizenship And Avoid Conflicting Loyalties,” by Andy J. Semotiuk and published by Forbes, Semotiuk noted that a high office holder cannot have dual citizenship since that could result in conflict of interests. It is this conflict of interests that motivated the writers of our constitution to bar individuals with dual citizenship from office of president, governor or lawmaker!

Only a true patriot can be allowed into such offices. Any man who has such duality can wreck our country and flee to his alternate country. God forbid that. This alleged matter of Bola Ahmed Tinubu dual citizenship ought to be thoroughly scrutinised if we are serious as a nation of laws.

“A person who has forfeited property on the basis of a crime cannot be entitled to indemnity. Forfeiture is a form of punishment. There is no indemnity in our criminal procedure,” the court further stated in a majority decision delivered. - Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

Where a candidate however, presents a forged certificate regardless of the type of certificate the candidates have, once it is deemed to be forged such candidate have contravene the position of the law and as such they stand disqualified if found culpable.

In conclusion, if the supreme under special circumstances admits this Academical records and the court further finds the candidate guilty of forgery, the constitutional implications is that such candidate  will be disqualified.

We expect the CJN and other Supreme Court Justices to courageously uphold the constitution by ensuring that a confirmed lawbreaker is not retained as the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.