By Ibekimi Oriamaja
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted a civil group, the Incorporated Trustees of the Center for Reform and Public Advocacy, permission yesterday to seek an order of mandamus compelling the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba, to prosecute APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu for alleged perjury.
After arguing an ex-parte application through its lawyer, Mr Ugo Nwofor, the group was granted permission.
The group had petitioned the police over an alleged act of perjury by the former Lagos State governor, but he has yet to carry out his duty of investigating and prosecuting reported crime, as in the Tinubu case, since the defendants received their letter several weeks ago.
In a ruling, the court determined that the ex-parte application was meritorious and granted it, setting November 1 as the date for the substantive suit hearing.
In the group’s main suit, filed on July 4, the first and second respondents are the Nigerian Police Force and the Inspector General of Police.
The NGO claims that the legal action was motivated by the IGP’s refusal to act on its petition against Tinubu for an alleged offence committed by the Lagos State House of Assembly in 1999.
The applicant claimed in its petition to the IG that Tinubu lied under oath on form CF 001, which he submitted to INEC in order to qualify for the governorship election in Lagos State in 1999.
According to the applicant, Tinubu “forged all of the educational certificates he listed in his INEC Form CF 001, which he admitted he did not possess in Annexure C.”
To be clear, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu falsely stated under oath in the said INEC Form that he attended Government College, Ibadan, and the University of Chicago in the United States.
Based on the foregoing, we respectfully request that you initiate criminal proceedings against Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in light of the express findings of the Lagos State House of Assembly, as captured above.”
Tinubu’s investigation is seen as a major setback for the APC presidential candidate, who is facing several charges of perjury, which means he lied under oath. He was also charged with drug dealing in the United States in the 1990s, for which he allegedly forfeited nearly $500,000 to the US government.
