AFRICA

Agbakoba: Lawyers Must Stop Debating Tinubu’s Alleged Certificate Forgery

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has called on the current president of the association to call out lawyers that breach rules of ethics of the profession by turning the media into a court of law over President Bola Tinubu’s alleged certificate forgery.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, Atiku Abubakar, has been challenging Tinubu’s victory at the February 25 poll and the verdict of the election tribunal upholding the outcome of the vote.

Atiku had alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were fraught with discrepancies and forgeries, as such, his request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records was subsequently granted.

To this end, the former vice-president has applied to file the academic records as fresh evidence at the supreme court.

However, there have been heated debates in the mainstream and social media on whether or not Tinubu’s academic records were relevant to Atiku’s appeal and if the apex court would admit the fresh evidence.

Against this backdrop, Agbakoba, in a statement on Monday, said he was ashamed to see lawyers on national television arguing and debating the merits or demerits of the allegations.

The senior lawyer expressed displeasure with what he described as the cacophony of discordant voices on Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar surrounding the controversy over the CSU records.

He warned that armchair lawyers were heating up Nigeria dangerously, urging people to keep their opinions and views to themselves while awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.

His words: “The cacophony of discordant voices on Tinubu/Atiku over the certificate matter is completely out of hand. This utter nonsense from armchair lawyers is heating up Nigeria dangerously. Please, can we keep our opinions and views to ourselves, awaiting a decision of the Supreme Court?

“I am so ashamed to see lawyers on television arguing one way or the other on the merits or demerits of the Chicago State University matter. This is most unhelpful! I call out all media that tolerate this nonsense of adjudicating the CSU matter on TV and newspapers.

“I urge the President of the Nigerian Bar Association to call out lawyers that breach rules of ethics by turning the media into a Court of Law.

“Can we please stop heating up our country!!! Let us allow the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make a judicial pronouncement which is binding on us all!!!! This public nonsense must stop.”

Wale Igbintade