CFRPA rejects transfer of Tinubu’s certificate case from Kano to Abuja

Civil rights advocates under the aegis of Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy CFRPA have kicked against the transfer of the suit challenging President Bola Tinubu’s academic credentials from the Kano to the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, describing the order as a manifestation of bias in favour of the president.

CFRPA, in a statement by the Head of its Legal Unit, Kalu Kalu Agu, said the transfer followed an application by lawyers representing Tinubu, and accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of granting the request in a manner that “gives the impression of preferential treatment and creates a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the office of the Chief Judge in favour of Mr Tinubu and his legal team.”

The group had, on June 26, 2026, filed suit No. FHC/KN/CS/312/2026 (The Incorporated Trustees and Reform and Public Advocacy v. Bola Ahmed Tinubu & 2 Ors) in Kano, challenging the academic credentials presented by the President and raising constitutional questions under Sections 131 and 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

CFRPA listed three grounds for its rejection of the transfer, beginning with what it called a denial of access to justice, noting that “Kano is where many of our witnesses and members reside,” and that moving the case to Abuja “imposes unnecessary hardship, cost, and inconvenience on the Plaintiff and is designed to frustrate the case.”

The group also accused the President’s camp of forum shopping, stating that the relocation of the suit “appears to be a deliberate attempt to shop for a more convenient forum for Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is the sitting President and to avoid public scrutiny in Kano.”

CFRPA insisted that the judiciary must not only be impartial but must be seen to be impartial, warning that the transfer, done “at the behest of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the President’s lawyers, erodes public confidence in the independence of the Federal High Court.”

The group demanded that the Chief Judge immediately reverses the transfer order and allow the case to proceed in Kano, where it was originally filed.

Posing a direct question to the President, CFRPA asked: “If Mr President has nothing to hide regarding the allegations of forgery of academic credentials, why is he afraid of going to the North to stand trial and defend himself in Kano?”

The group added that “a leader who claims to represent all Nigerians should not be afraid to answer constitutional questions in any part of Nigeria.”

CFRPA restated its commitment to the rule of law, constitutionalism and accountability in public office, vowing to “use all lawful means to resist any attempt to pervert the course of justice.”