By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
A civil society organization, the Human Global Resource Initiative, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to prevent the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, from contesting any future elections in Nigeria. The lawsuit alleges that the governor made false declarations regarding his academic qualifications and concealed a past criminal record in the United States.
The suit names the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the State Security Service (SSS), and Governor Abiodun’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), as defendants. Also joined in the case are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).
At the heart of the legal challenge are what the group describes as glaring contradictions in the educational background Governor Abiodun submitted to INEC.
The group’s Executive Director, Buna Olaitan Isiak, presented evidence to the court showing that Mr. Abiodun’s sworn affidavits (INEC Form CF001) from different election cycles are inconsistent. In his 2015 senatorial bid, he stated he attended “Comprehensive High School Ayetoro State Primary School.” However, when running for governor in 2019, he claimed to have attended “International Primary School Ayetoro.”
In an affidavit, Mr. Isiak cited a response from the Yewa North Local Government Education Authority from April 2022, which stated that “International Primary School Ayetoro” did not exist during the period the governor claimed to have been a student there. The authority confirmed the existence of Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, but noted it is a secondary, not a primary, institution.
The suit further highlights discrepancies in Mr. Abiodun’s tertiary education claims. In his 2015 form, he declared graduating from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1986 and from Kennesaw State University in Georgia, USA, in 1989. However, in his 2019 governorship form, these university degrees were absent, with the governor stating he possessed only a West African School Certificate (1978).
The group claims its inquiries at Obafemi Awolowo University revealed that Mr. Abiodun did not graduate from the institution. The plaintiff argues these repeated contradictions amount to perjury and a false declaration, a direct violation of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. They have cited a Supreme Court precedent, SALEH VS ABAH & ORS, in support of their argument.
Beyond the academic discrepancies, the lawsuit accuses Governor Abiodun of concealing a criminal record in the United States. Mr. Isiak deposed that the governor was arrested and jailed in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in 1986 for credit card fraud and forgery. The group provided what it says is his jail number (860089436) from that period.
According to the suit, this information was omitted from his INEC forms. It was further alleged that when Mr. Abiodun’s political career intensified, he successfully petitioned to have these records sealed, a request granted in 2015.
The governor has previously acknowledged the arrest but argued in 2022 that it was insufficient to disqualify him from the 2019 governorship election, contending that the statute of limitations on the matter had expired.
The Human Global Resource Initiative is asking the court to determine whether the governor’s actions constitute perjury and a breach of the Electoral Act. The primary relief sought is “An Order of Perpetual Injunction restraining [INEC] from considering, accepting or recognising [Mr. Abiodun] as a candidate of the (APC)or of any registered political party for election into any office in Nigeria.”
The legal challenge, which the group states is being handled pro bono by the law firm MJS Partners, threatens to derail the governor’s political future. As a second-term governor whose tenure ends next year, Mr. Abiodun is widely speculated to be eyeing a senatorial seat in Ogun East, a move that would pit him against the current senator, Gbenga Daniel. If successful, the court case would bar INEC from accepting his nomination for that or any other elective office.
