A civil society organisation, the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, has approached the Federal High Court in Kano seeking an order disqualifying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election over renewed allegations of certificate forgery.
The suit, marked FHC/K/CS/312/2026, names President Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission and Chicago State University as defendants.
According to court documents, the plaintiff alleged that Tinubu presented forged academic credentials from Chicago State University as well as a fake National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate to INEC during the 2023 presidential election.
The organisation further claimed that the President did not attend Government College, Lagos, as stated in his records, arguing that the institution was established in 1974, four years after Tinubu was said to have graduated.
It also contended that Tinubu lacks a valid secondary school certificate, which it described as the minimum constitutional qualification for contesting the office of President.
The plaintiff accused INEC of failing to act on a petition it reportedly submitted on June 19, 2026, requesting clarification on Tinubu’s eligibility to seek re-election.
In its statement of claim, the group relied on the 2023 United States court proceedings in In Re: Application of Atiku Abubakar (No. 23 CV 05099), which compelled Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s academic records.
According to the suit, the documents released by the university allegedly contained inconsistencies, including what the plaintiff described as a forged University of Cambridge General Certificate of Education.
The group is asking the court to declare Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate forged and order INEC to disqualify him from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
It also urged the court to direct Chicago State University to remove Tinubu’s name from its records and issue a perpetual injunction restraining INEC from accepting or uploading his name as a presidential candidate.
In addition, the plaintiff said it had submitted affidavits, witness statements and letters to the NYSC and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, demanding official disclaimers regarding the alleged fake NYSC discharge certificate.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency, INEC nor Chicago State University had publicly responded to the allegations contained in the suit.
The case adds another legal dimension to the long-running controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic records, which featured prominently in the aftermath of the 2023 presidential election. The allegations remain before the court and have not been judicially determined.
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