President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and a number of other prominent politicians have all been implicated in an alleged forgery or missing certificate scandal at some point.

Particularly during the democratic era, many individuals in elective and appointive positions have had to defend themselves in court against allegations of certificate scandals.

As expected, not every allegation was proven to be valid. Several cases were ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence. A few others were justifiably judged guilty of these charges.

The pattern of certificate forgery also persisted during and after the recently concluded general elections of 2023.

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Goodluck Jonathan

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of fabricating his PhD certificate many years ago.

Jonathan allegedly earned a BSc in Zoology with a second-class honour, an MSc in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology, and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

Obasanjo's accusation caused an outrage and shook the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership.

UNIPORT, however, dismissed the allegation as having "neither legs nor grounds to stand on."

Later, the university refused to comply with a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request for Jonathan's academic records by a civil society organization, the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

President Muhammadu Buhari

After becoming the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential nominee in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari was also embroiled in an alleged certificate scandal.

The then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) complained that Buhari's secondary school certificate was unavailable.

Buhari was able to win the 2015 presidential election despite the PDP's every effort.

In 2018, the PDP and other political parties protested again when Buhari expressed interest in reelection and did not include his academic credentials in the documents he submitted to INEC for the 2019 presidential election.

As a result of Buhari's inability to produce his West African Secondary School Certificate, some Nigerians have accused him of lacking a secondary education.

Only when the West African Examination Council, WAEC, issued a "attestation certificate" to the president, confirming that Buhari had acquired a secondary school certificate from the examination body in 1961, did the controversy subside.

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 Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Prior to the presidential election of 2023, the former governor of Lagos State made headlines for failing to present his academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

On the INEC form, Tinubuomitted information about his primary and secondary education, but he did indicate that he attended Chicago State University.

In an affidavit supporting his presidential nomination form, the APC candidate stated that his properties and certifications were destroyed and stolen while he was in self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998.

Despite the controversy, Tinubu won the presidential election of 2023.

Salisu Buhari

From 1999 to 2000, Salisu Buhari was the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria.

In 1999, he became the face of certificate scandals in Nigeria when, shortly after his election, he admitted to having fabricated his age and academic credentials.

He claimed to have a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, but he only earned a diploma there.

Following the controversy, Buhari resigned his position as Speaker.

Faking credentials to gain admission to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he was also expelled from that institution. Therefore, he was unable to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Salisu would later confess publicly to the allegations of forgery and implore Nigerians for forgiveness and another chance to serve the country.

Senator Ademola Adeleke

Two members of his party, Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu, accused and charged the incumbent Governor of Osun State with falsifying his West African Senior School Certificate Examination results and secondary school testimonial before the Osogbo High Court.

Adeleke replaced Gboyega Oyetola after the latter's defeat in the state's governorship election.

The plaintiffs sought Adeleke's disqualification from the governorship election on September 22, 2019, on the grounds that he purportedly submitted fake certificates to obtain the PDP nomination.

However, Osogbo High Court Justice David Oladimeji cleared Adeleke to run in the election.

Awoosayan Olalekan, Ojejade Thomas, and Awodire Sina filed a new lawsuit with the Federal High Court in Osogbo against Adeleke, the PDP, and INEC.

Subsequently, the Court of Appeal exonerated Senator Adeleke, declaring that he possessed the necessary educational qualifications to run for office.

Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo

Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo was the running colleague of David Lyon, who won the November 2019 election for governor of Bayelsa State.

However, the Supreme Court removed Lyon as governor of Bayelsa State less than twenty-four hours before his inauguration.

Recall that a panel of justices headed by Mary Odili had requested INEC to revoke the certificate of return issued to Lyon and issue a new one to the candidate with the second-highest vote total.

Following the affirmation of a Federal High Court ruling disqualifying Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, Lyon's running mate, for submitting forged credentials to INEC, the Supreme Court issued its ruling.

The court ruled that Degi-Eremienyo's actions affected Lyon because both candidates ran on the same ticket.

Kemi Adeosun

Adeoson was a former finance minister. After allegations that she had forged her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate, she resigned from her position.

In her resignation letter, Adeosun claimed she was unaware. A Federal High Court in Abuja exonerated her of any malfeasance in the NYSC certificate charges in July 2022.

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Christian Abah

In March 2017, the Supreme Court terminated Christian Abah's term as member of the House of Representatives representing the Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency in Benue State.

The court's action was in response to a 2016 ruling by a federal high court in Abuja that he submitted a forged academic qualification certificate to INEC.

The Supreme Court affirmed that Abah had forged the OND certificate purportedly issued in 1985 by the Federal Polytechnic in Mubi, Adamawa State.

The court therefore ordered INEC to issue a new certificate of return to Hassan Saleh, who finished second to Abah in the 2014 PDP primary.

Bello Masari

Governor Bello Masari was accused of fabricating his secondary school certificate in 2015. The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the case for absence of evidence.

Despite significant opposition, he became the state's leader.

James Ibori

From 1999 to 2007, James Ibori served as the governor of Delta State. In 2007, it was alleged that he had forged his bachelor's and master's degrees in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Benin. This accusation was investigated. Ibori was convicted of corruption in the United Kingdom in 2012, although allegations of certificate forgery were not the primary basis for his conviction.

Dimeji Bankole

From 2007 to 2011, Dimeji Bankole was the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria. In 2010, he was accused of failing to complete his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service and was subsequently rumored to have submitted forged discharge documents.

He submitted his NYSC certificate, putting an end to the rumor.

Peter Mbah

A few days before his inauguration, the incoming governor of Enugu State has already been accused of certificate fraud.

The allegation that Mbah's NYSC discharge certificate was forged has exploded into a national controversy.

In response to an inquiry from a non-governmental organization, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) issued a letter in February 2023 stating that it did not issue the certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

A second letter renouncing the certificate was issued in April 2023 in response to a second inquiry by Silver & Co. Associates of Aba.

In an Arise TV interview, the Director General of the NYSC also stated that Mbah's certificate was not issued by the organization.

Mbah has filed a N20 billion lawsuit against the NYSC, claiming that the controversy surrounding his discharge certificate has damaged his reputation.

The incoming governor and his party, the PDP, insist that the NYSC was lying.