Tuesday, June 30, 2026 - The Incorporated Trustees of the Centre for Reforms and Public Advocacy has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Kano seeking an order disqualifying President Bola Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election over allegations that he submitted forged academic and National Youth Service Corps certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The suit, marked FHC/KN/CS/312/2026, was filed before the Federal High Court, Kano Judicial Division, on June 26, 2026.

A copy of the originating court processes, exclusively obtained by Arewa PUNCH on Friday, listed the President, the Independent National Electoral Commission and Chicago State University as first, second and third defendants, respectively.

In the suit, the plaintiff is asking the court to declare that Tinubu allegedly presented forged academic credentials to INEC in support of his qualification for the 2023 presidential election.

The advocacy group also urged the court to declare that the Chicago State University certificate presented to INEC was allegedly forged and that the President is consequently not qualified to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Among the reliefs sought, the plaintiff asked the court to order INEC to disqualify Tinubu from participating in the 2027 presidential election and restrain the commission from accepting or processing his nomination.

The group also prayed the court for an order directing Chicago State University to strike Tinubu’s name from its records and sought a perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising him as a candidate in the next presidential election.

In its statement of claim, the plaintiff alleged that the President made false declarations regarding his educational qualifications and relied on documents released during the 2023 discovery proceedings in the United States involving former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Chicago State University.

According to the court processes, the plaintiff stated that, “the first defendant knowingly presented forged academic credentials and false information to the second defendant in support of his qualification to contest the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The organisation further alleged discrepancies in the President’s academic records, names appearing on documents and the NYSC certificate submitted to INEC.

It further argued that, “the certificate purportedly issued by Chicago State University and submitted to INEC is forged, invalid and incapable of conferring any constitutional qualification on the first defendant.”

The plaintiff maintained that the alleged discrepancies rendered Tinubu constitutionally ineligible to seek another term in office.

It stated, “the first defendant is constitutionally disqualified from contesting the 2027 presidential election having allegedly presented forged documents contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Arewa PUNCH reports that the suit followed a series of letters written by the organisation to INEC, the National Youth Service Corps and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation between 2025 and 2026 requesting clarification on the President’s academic and NYSC records.

The plaintiff claimed that despite the correspondence, its concerns were not addressed, prompting it to approach the court for judicial interpretation and enforcement of constitutional provisions relating to qualification for elective office.

“The refusal and/or failure of the relevant public institutions to address these issues has made it necessary for this honourable court to determine the constitutional questions raised in this suit,” the plaintiff stated.

The sole witness listed by the plaintiff is Emmanuella Alisi, while the organisation said it intends to rely on documents, including records from the United States proceedings involving Chicago State University and copies of correspondence exchanged with public institutions.

As of the time of filing this report, no date had been fixed for hearing the suit, while the defendants had yet to file their responses to the allegations.