A request by a civil rights organization under the aegis of Incorporated Trustees of Center for Reform and Public Advocacy, to apply for order of mandamus that will compel the Inspector General of Police to prosecute the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over alleged perjury, was on Thursday July 21, granted by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The organization filed the request after the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba allegedly refused to effect the arrest and prosecution of Tinubu for supplying false information on oath in respect of his educational qualifications.
In his argument, the civil organization’s lawyer Ugo Nwofor stated that the application is predicated on the rule of the Federal High Court to first obtain permission of the Court before proceeding with a suit seeking order to compel the police chief to carry out his constitutional duties.
Justice Inyang Ekwo who held that the ex-parte application was meritorious and subsequently granted it, fixed November 1 for the hearing of the substantive suit.
The CSO had in its petition to the IGP, claimed that Tinubu lied on oath in the form CF 001 he submitted to INEC in aid of his qualification for the governorship election in Lagos State in 1999.
“Tinubu forged all the educational certificates he listed in his INEC Form CF 001 which he admitted he did not possess in annexure C”.
”For purpose of clarity, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the said INEC Form deposed on oath that he attended Government College, Ibadan and University of Chicago, USA when in actual fact he did not.
“On the strength of the above, we respectfully demand that you initiate the criminal proceedings of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu consequent upon the express findings of the Lagos State House of Assembly as captured above.”
The applicant who also claimed that the Presidential candidate of the APC was indicted by the Lagos State House of Assembly in 1999, also pointed out that Sections 214 and 215, of the constitution and Section 4 of the Nigerian Police Act, 2020, stated that the Police have the statutory responsibility to “prevent, detect and investigate criminal allegations whether brought to their notice by individuals, person or persons, corporate bodies, institutions etc”.
