Despite his certificate forgery scandal, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming his electoral victory would stop “media trials, lies and shenanigans” against his person. 

“The judgement of the Supreme Court put an end to the shenanigans, put a stop to innuendos, lies, trials in the media and public space,” Mr Tinubu said in an interview with state-owned television, NTA on Thursday. 

The apex court on Thursday affirmed Mr Tinubu’s victory, rejecting fresh evidence of certificate forgery tendered before it by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The court said Mr Abubakar did not include forgery in his case at the tribunal and that the apex court will not take fresh evidence not tendered within 180 days of the tribunal. 

“Facts and matters that were not rendered in the tribunal have no place in the appeal,” Justice John Okoro ruled, adding, “A petitioner shall not be allowed to introduce new evidence in an appeal.”

Though the Supreme Court affirmed Mr Tinubu’s electoral victory, the judgement did not clear Mr Tinubu’s forgery scandal as Nigerians rejected him as their president, berating him as a certificate forger on social media. 

In an X post, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, said, “Let me repeat, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not my President.”

Also, @shehusky said, “I don’t care about the Supreme Court ruling. It doesn’t change the fact that Tinubu did not win the last presidential election. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s not qualified to contest the election.”

Another user, @NigeriaRenew, said, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu did NOT WIN the February 2023 presidential election. You know this; I know this. The Supreme Court can’t rewrite the history of what happened that day.”

In August, before the tribunal’s verdict, Mr Abubakar approached the U.S. court to compel Chicago State University to release Mr Tinubu’s academic record, which has been controversial and shrouded in secrecy for decades. 

Last month, the U.S.-based institution, in a deposition, revealed Mr Tinubu presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

CSU’s deposition sparked reactions amongst Nigerians, with many calling for President Tinubu’s ouster in line with Nigeria’s Constitution. 

Section 137 (1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution (amended in 2010) states that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”