A civil rights organization ,Center for Reform and Public Advocacy(CRPA), has called on the Inspector-General of Police(IGP) Alkali Baba Usman,to order the immediate arrest and prosecution of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, for allegedly supplying false academic qualifications to secure the nomination.
Making the call during a press conference addressed by its Legal Adviser , Agu Kalu, in Abuja on Saturday, the body gave the Inspector-General of Police a 48- hour ultimatum within which he should do so.
It expressed concern over the inability of the IGP to act on the matter since June 16 when it was reported to him.
The body threatened that should the IGP fail to act, court action would be instituted against him for an order of mandamus to compel him to effect the arrest of Tinubu at the end of the ultimatum.
It alleged that the former Lagos State governor was not legally qualified to become the next President of Nigeria in 2023 on grounds of supplying false information on oath in his form EC 9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
It also alleged that in 1999 Bola Tinubu claimed to have attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School, Ibadan between 1958 and 1964 and Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1969, only to turn around in 2022 that he never attended any primary or secondary school in his EC9 form.
The group 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.
“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.”
It added that in the event Buhari and IG failed 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 IG to do the needful.
In his reaction, the Director (Legal Directorate), Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), said they were ready to defend against the threats and allegations.
He clarified that the APC presidential candidate has complied fully with the provisions of 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.
“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”, he added.
