Group Sues to Stop Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election Bid Over Fresh Certificate Forgery Allegations

A civil society organisation, the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy (CFRPA), has approached the Federal High Court in Kano seeking an order disqualifying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election over alleged certificate forgery.

The suit, marked FHC/K/CS/312/2026, names President Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chicago State University (CSU) as defendants.

According to court documents, the plaintiff alleged that President Tinubu submitted forged academic credentials from Chicago State University as well as a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to INEC during the 2023 presidential election.

The organisation further claimed that Tinubu falsely stated that he attended Government College Lagos, arguing that the institution was established in 1974, four years after he was said to have graduated.

CFRPA also contended that the President does not possess a valid secondary school certificate, which it described as the minimum constitutional educational qualification required to contest for Nigeria’s highest office.

The group accused INEC of failing to act on a petition it submitted on June 19, 2026, requesting clarification on the President’s eligibility.

In its statement of claim, the plaintiff relied on records released by Chicago State University following a 2023 ruling by a United States court in the case In Re: Application of Atiku Abubakar (No. 23 CV 05099). It alleged that the documents contained inconsistencies, including what it described as a forged University of Cambridge General Certificate of Education.

Among the reliefs sought, the plaintiff is asking the court to declare the Chicago State University certificate presented by Tinubu as forged, direct INEC to disqualify him from participating in the 2027 presidential election, compel Chicago State University to remove his name from its records, and restrain the electoral commission from accepting or uploading his name as a presidential candidate.

The group also informed the court that it had submitted affidavits, witness statements and letters to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, requesting official clarification on the authenticity of the President’s alleged NYSC certificate.

The court has yet to fix a date for hearing the matter, and the defendants had not filed their responses at the time of reporting.