EXCLUSIVE: Nigerians revisit issue of Tunisian presidential candidate jailed for certificate forgery
*Say in Nigeria, people will go on national television to defend and free him *Warns political parties, INEC against fielding candidates with questionable character and forgery of any kind
By OUR REPORTERS Lagos, Osogbo and Abuja
“This idea is old and won’t work in 2927 because Nigerians’ eyes are now open. No amount of use if force be it police collaboration or agberos will scare the people away from the polling units. If the police chase us, we won’t go. There is no law that say we should not stand to protect our votes after am casting them. Let them not provoke us this coming exercise,” he spoke with full confidence.
Days to Tunisia’s election, Ayachi Zammel, a presidential candidate, was sentenced to six months in prison September 2024 for using “fraudulent certificates.”
Critics of Nigerian system, who are circulating a banner that signifies a deliberate reopening of the matter ahead 2027 election, are viewing it from the perspective that their fellow citizens in the country would rather use the judiciary, media articles and go on national television to defend such a politicians with more than enough reasons he must be passed by political party process and the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The DEFENDER reports that the only known politician dropped from furthering his political ambition was not dropped because operators of the system wanted him to drop but because he chose by himself to drop. That was Rt Hon Salisu Buhari, the first ever Speaker of the House of Representatives and number three citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Bayo Onanuga-led The NEWS magazine at the time in 1999 exposed the WAEC (West Africa Extermination Council) certificate forgery allegedly committed by the Kano State born and, without wasting anyone’s time or making any effort to sponsor media defence or use of senior lawyers or judges in courts, Rt. Hon Buhari owned up by admitting, apologizing to Nigerians and resigning.
Salisu Buhari’s character of self admittance of guilt without being dragged before a court and his remorsefulness made many Nigerians, who though accepted his resignation, to go emotional and still wished that he returns after properly obtaining his educational certificate to lead the country. There had been no other self-esteem politicians with consciousness of God fearing and patriotic allegiance like Salisu Buhari, to have such behave since 1999 many such cases involving high profile political figures existed and still exist which the same The NEWS magazine actors (journalists) saw and see but did and still do like they did not and do not see, despite the the many fights against such accused by the likes of late Chief Gani Fawehunmi among others.
In the meantime, citizens on the side of truth and national integrity in Nigeria are warning all political parties and INEC in the country to be sure of hard times and total rejection coming for them should they present candidates, either governorship or presidential, who have no clarity of dignity and integrity in the certificate they claim for the 2027 general elections.
They are also warning warning that the court should stop clearing or striking out cases with connection to certificate forgery on the ground of technicality as doubt so can lead to public disobedience of court orders and judgements in the emerging political era building up to the 2027 elections.
“To be foretold is to be forewarned,” an anonymous stakeholder told The DEFENDER’s reporter in Osogbo while commenting on the reopened circulation of the Tunisian sentence banner.
It will be recalled that the Criminal Chamber of the Jendouba Court of First Instance, on Wednesday September 25, 2024, sentenced Mr Ayachi Zammel to six months in prison for “deliberately using a fraudulent certificate,” according to Tunisia’s TAP news agency reporting same date.
Mr Zammel was sentenced to 20 months in prison for falsifying popular endorsement documents to contest the presidential race the week before.
In Lagos, a respondent, who described himself as a “nobody”, said, “What some politicians will always want to do is ensure their candidate passes through to INEC knowing that they will claim they have no power to stop a candidate presented by any party and that any aggrieved party should go to court and the court won’t give justice. We won’t tolerate candidates with questionable character and forgery of any kind.
“This idea is old and won’t work in 2927 because Nigerians’ eyes are now open. No amount of use if force be it police collaboration or agberos will scare the people away from the polling units. If the police chase us, we won’t go. There is no law that say we should not stand to protect our votes after am casting them. Let them not provoke us this coming exercise,” he spoke with full confidence.
Also circulated is a video showing a female electoral officer in the Republic of Congo, who was stripped naked and beaten to stupour for aiding the rigging of an election and announcing a fake result. The INEC and officials have been advised to ensure credible, transparent and accountable electoral conduct for the peace of the process come 2027.
