One interesting thing most people don’t know is that some of the efforts to get Bola Ahmed Tinubu to disclose his academic credentials before now started with Gani Fawehinmi.
So, in 2001, Chief Gani Fawehinmi submitted a petition to the Nigeria Police Force alleging that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then the Governor of Lagos State, had made false declarations and submitted forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in his nomination forms.
Gani Fawehinmi requested Musiliu Smith, who was the Inspector General of Police then, to investigate the allegations.
But Musiliu Smith and the Nigeria Police refused to investigate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that he was a sitting governor protected by constitutional immunity.
Most people would have stopped there.
But Gani Fawehinmi did not.
Following the police’s refusal to act, Chief Gani Fawehinmi dragged the Inspector General of Police to court, seeking an Order of Mandamus to compel the police to perform their statutory duty by investigating the alleged crime.
Now you may ask, “What is an Order of Mandamus?”
I will tell you.
An Order of Mandamus is a command from a court that forces a government official or public body to do a job they are legally required to do, but have refused to perform. End.
When the case came before Justice Egbo-Egbo of the Lagos Federal High Court, the Nigeria Police argued that Gani Fawehinmi lacked the legal right (locus standi) to institute the action because he was not directly injured by the Governor’s alleged false declaration.
The Federal High Court accepted the argument of the Nigeria Police and dismissed the case.
But Gani Fawehinmi refused to give up.
He proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
At the Court of Appeal, the judges took a more liberal position.
They held that Gani Fawehinmi indeed had the legal right to institute the case.
However, the Court of Appeal still held that because the police’s power to investigate is discretionary, a court could not use an Order of Mandamus to compel them to investigate a sitting governor.
Again, Gani Fawehinmi was not satisfied.
So he took the battle to the Supreme Court.
That was where the case took a dramatic turn.
The Supreme Court carefully considered his arguments and drew a very important legal distinction between investigation and prosecution.
The court reasoned that although Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution grants the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors absolute immunity from civil and criminal proceedings while in office, that immunity does not prevent the police from investigating them.
The Supreme Court further explained why such investigations are necessary.
It held that evidence gathered against public office holders while they are still in office can be preserved and immediately used to prosecute them the very moment their constitutional immunity expires.
Lastly, the court held that the police have a mandatory statutory duty under the Police Act to investigate alleged crimes.
Because that duty is a public duty, the court ruled that an Order of Mandamus can be issued to compel the police to perform it whenever they fail or refuse to do so.
That was how Gani Fawehinmi won the case.
However, the unfortunate thing is that even though Gani Fawehinmi won the legal argument regarding the police’s constitutional power to investigate a sitting governor, the police still chose not to act on the judgment or press criminal charges.
From May 10, 2002, when the Supreme Court delivered its judgment, to today, July 1, 2026, it has been exactly 24 years, 1 month, and 21 days.
Yet Nigerians are still asking President Tinubu for his credentials.
Without success.
I am Ekene Aninze Esq.
