Nigeria's President faces allegations of diploma forgery as opposition presents new evidence

Nigeria’s main opposition has declared its intention to provide compelling new evidence to the courts, challenging the legitimacy of this year’s presidential election. The opposition alleges that President Bola Tinubu, the declared winner, presented fraudulent academic credentials to the authorities, casting a shadow over his presidency.

First runner-up, Atiku Abubakar, along with his legal team, claimed in a recent press briefing that President Tinubu forged a diploma from an American university and submitted it to Nigeria’s election commission before the February election. They substantiated their claims by citing records obtained from a U.S. court hearing, which have also been shared with The Associated Press.

Abubakar has consistently argued that Tinubu should not hold the presidency due to alleged irregularities in the election process and doubts about Tinubu’s qualifications, including allegations of dual citizenship and a criminal indictment in the United States. Tinubu has refuted these accusations, but the latest allegation regarding academic credentials adds a new layer of complexity to the ongoing controversy.

In response to the allegations, President Tinubu’s spokesman vehemently denied the charges, stating, “A man cannot forge the academic records he possesses,” on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This unfolding legal challenge is capturing the attention of many Nigerians, especially in the wake of a divisive election that saw Tinubu secure victory with less than 50% of the votes—a historic first in Nigeria’s electoral history. Atiku Abubakar is not alone in this legal battle, as two other presidential candidates are also seeking to invalidate Tinubu’s election victory through the courts.

Kalu Kalu, Abubakar’s lawyer, expressed their determination to present “fresh evidence” in the case currently before Nigeria’s Supreme Court, emphasizing that “a party at fault cannot be allowed to enjoy the fruit of his illegality.”

It’s worth noting that no presidential election in Nigeria’s history has ever been nullified, making this legal challenge a groundbreaking endeavor.

In the pursuit of their case, Atiku Abubakar secured an order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, compelling Chicago State University, where Tinubu purportedly attended, to release his academic records. In a recent deposition provided to the Associated Press, Caleb Westberg, the registrar of the university, confirmed the existence of Bola Tinubu’s records but was unable to verify the authenticity of the diploma presented to the Nigerian election commission, which indicated that Tinubu graduated in 1979.

Westberg stated, “We’re not qualified to verify whether this document (the diploma) is authentic, given that it is not in our possession.” When asked if the school had any record of issuing the diploma in question, Westberg responded with a clear, “Correct.”

Alexandre de Gramont, who represented Atiku Abubakar in the U.S. court, expressed satisfaction, saying, “We got virtually everything we sought” after a “hard-fought battle to obtain the educational records … which Mr. Tinubu’s lawyers vigorously opposed at every step.”

This episode brings to mind previous accusations of forgery against Nigerian leaders, including Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, although those allegations were never proven. The outcome of this latest legal challenge remains uncertain, but it has already become a significant chapter in Nigeria’s political history.