By Ibrahim Garba
In reference to President Bola Tinubu’s CSU degree, lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Adeniyi Akintola said on Arise TV, “I did say that if it was Oseni Rufai that was going to interview me, I wouldn’t stay here”. He added that Arise Television and their staff are known for taking sides, which is one of the reasons he doesn’t interview on television stations.
Speaking further on the subject, Adeniyi said, “What we have been having regarding Tinubu’s case are comments from mechanics and even painters from every nook and cranny commenting on what they know nothing about, and that has been the base of our own democracy because our judicial system has become too media-driven”.
According to him, “the allegation that they have been making—I don’t know if they know the meaning of forgery. I have gone through the entire deposition, and there was nowhere to challenge them to show where in the deposition the registrar mentioned fake or forgery. They have been talking about illegality; at what stage have they discovered this illegality? The certificate issue was not before the court of appeals. I have gone through their brief argument, and nowhere is this issue of a forged certificate mentioned; it was not canvassed or discussed in the court below; it was never raised in court, so we are waiting for them to prove that he forged any documents, and for those who want to unveil a forged certificate, all we can say is good luck to them”.
In his words, “the university issues degrees, and the diplomas are for ceremonial entertainment, and not many people are willing to collect them. It was the PDP that wanted the certificate, and CSU said they could not certify it. We know this station for always taking sides, Oseni and co. I did say that if it was Oseni Rufai who was going to interview me, I wouldn’t stay here, and to your officials”.
