Metro

CSU Scandal: No evidence Tinubu’s Chicago certificates were forged— Report

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2023

A fact-finding mission embarked upon by the BBC has revealed that there is no evidence that the diploma Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to the country’s electoral commission was forged.

In a report published on Wednesday, the BBC’s Global Disinformation Team. consisting of Nigerian researchers, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Fauziyya Tukur and Olaronke Alo, said after a thorough fact-checking, it came up with the verdict that the allegation by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election that President Tinubu forged his certificate from the Chicago State University, had no evidence to back it up.

The release of the president’s academic documents by the CSU on the orders of a US District Court was a culmination of a motion filed in August by Atiku, who is contesting the victory of President Tinubu in the disputed February 25 election.

The released documents have been tagged as fake by opposition party leaders and members, especially Atiku and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, while the Tinubu camp has continued to insist that the certificates are genuine.

Atiku, in particular, has maintained that the documents were doctored, and has accused Tinubu of falsifying the CSU diploma of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration awarded in 1979 that he submitted to INEC.

The released documents also raised questions on conflicting birth date and schools purportedly attended by Tinubu.

In one of the documents, it was stated that Tinubu attended Government College Lagos in 1970, but information available on the school website states that it was only founded in 1974.

According to the documents, Tinubu’s transcript from the CSU has his date of birth as March 29, 1954, while his undergraduate admissions application form has his date of birth as March 29, 1955, which have also given the Atiku legal team grounds to further doubt the authenticity of the documents.

Other grounds of discrepancies which the opposition have held on to are the issues of Tinubu’s Social Security Number and gender.

But the BBC fact-finding team’s report said the Social Security Number in the transcript from Chicago varsity matched what it had in other documents in which Tinubu’s gender was marked as male.

The case is now before Nigeria’s Supreme Court, which will decide whether or not the purported evidence is admissible in the election dispute.

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Metro

Zambia: Expert warns of food security threat due to climate change

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A prominent Zambian climate-smart agriculture expert, Oliver Bulaya, has warned of a collapse of the county’s agricultural sector with a potential threat to food security due to the worsening impact of climate change.

Bulaya, who bared his mind in an interview with Zambia Monitor on Friday, warned that ignoring the crisis could lead to severe disruptions in the country’s food supply and economy.

“Unless concerted efforts are made, the country will continue facing dire consequences from climate change,” the expert noted.

He lamented a growing trend of farmers relocating to regions experiencing above-normal rainfall, such as the northern block, as they struggle with losses caused by climate variability.

Bulaya emphasized that the once-reliable rainfall areas like North-Western Zambia are now experiencing lower precipitation, as seen during the 2023/2024 farming season and cautioned that poor farming practices, which had already strained the Southern region, could lead to similar challenges in other parts of the country if proactive measures were not implemented.

Metro

Outrage over murder of Nigerian beaten to death by South Africans inside estate security office

Published

9 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian community, under the auspices of Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA), has raised the alarm over the murder of a 37-year-old Nigerian, Julius Chukwunta, who was beaten to death by four South Africans inside an estate.

According to the association, Chukwunta, a native of Aninri Local Government Area in Enugu State, was reportedly attacked on Saturday, December 7, while driving to his residence in Midrand Protea Estate.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the President-General of NICASA, Dr Frank Onyekwelu, Chukwunta was blocked by the four men while approaching his residence.

Onyekwelu stated that information available to the association noted that after attempting to pass through, Chukwunta was met with resistance by the assailants, prompting him to seek help at the security office of the estate.

“At that moment, the four men allegedly attacked him, leaving him severely injured with a head wound,” the PG said.

“His female companion, who was sitting in the car, rushed to the security office and discovered him bleeding on the ground.

“In spite of attempts to call for help, the security office and residents did not assist in calling the police or an ambulance.

“After an hour, Chukwunta’s partner contacted her father, who, along with other family members, took him to Tembisa General Hospital.

“Chukwunta was placed on life support but later succumbed to his injuries and died at the Tembisa General Hospital on December 10, 2024.”

Onyekwelu also confirmed that the case was reported to the police by Chukwunta’s partner at the Midrand Police Station and was registered under file number 262/12/2024.

The NICASA President said the four suspects, aged 20, 24, 27, and 28, were arrested, and the case was presented in Alexandra Magistrate Court on December 13, 2024, where they were charged with murder.

“The court proceedings on December 18, 2024, saw three of the suspects granted bail of R10,000 each, while the fourth had not yet applied for bail. The case was adjourned to February 3, 2025.”

Onyekwelu however, expressed disappointment at the proceedings, wondering why three of the suspects were released on bail and vowed that the Nigerian community would continue to demand justice for Chukwunta and support his family.

He emphasised that the community would not rest until justice was served and the value of Nigerian lives was upheld in South Africa.