The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, has warned against media debates on the academic records of President Bola Tinubu.
Agbakoba, a human rights lawyer, said Nigerians should await the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter, noting that media debates on the president’s certificate are heating up Nigeria dangerously.
The Chicago State University (CSU) in the United States had, on Monday, October 2, 2023, released Tinubu’s credentials to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in compliance with the order of a court in the U.S.
Atiku had approached the court seeking to compel the university to release Tinubu’s records on the grounds that the credentials would strengthen his suit challenging the president’s electoral victory.
Though Tinubu’s credentials showed that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting and management, Atiku maintained that the president’s academic records from primary school to university were questionable.
READ ALSO: Atiku: Nigeria’s reputation at stake with Tinubu’s credentials
The former Vice President has also applied to file Tinubu’s credentials as fresh evidence at the Supreme Court.
However, Agbakoba, in a statement on Monday, October 9, said: “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.”
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