SUNTV Global Channel | August 8, 2026
Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has raised fresh questions about President Bola Tinubu’s nationality, family background and educational history.
Odinkalu, a professor of law, made the comments during an interview shared on social media, where he questioned what he described as inconsistencies and gaps in publicly available records concerning the President.
According to the former NHRC chairman, controversies surrounding an alleged Guinea diplomatic passport linked to Tinubu have raised questions about the President’s nationality.
“We have a president whose nationality we do not know because he carries a Guinea diplomatic passport,” Odinkalu was quoted as saying.
He also questioned the availability of publicly verifiable information concerning Tinubu’s parentage, genealogy and early education, including his primary and secondary school records.
Odinkalu further questioned how an individual could present university qualifications without clear records of the primary and secondary education that preceded them.
He referenced previous suggestions that Tinubu may have been homeschooled, saying that if that was the case, it should have been properly disclosed in official records.
“If he was home-schooled, as Festus Keyamo posited, famously then they should say so,” Odinkalu said, arguing that homeschooling does not necessarily mean a person would have no educational certificates.
The legal scholar also alleged that information associated with Tinubu’s educational history had changed over time. He specifically referred to previous claims involving Government College Ibadan and other educational details, which he said had subsequently been disputed.
Odinkalu questioned why the educational institutions attended by a sitting Nigerian president should remain unclear, arguing that any school that produced a Nigerian president would ordinarily take pride in identifying such an alumnus.
He drew from his own educational experience, noting that he could identify the primary school he attended despite beginning his education under difficult circumstances following the Nigerian Civil War.
Questions surrounding Tinubu’s academic qualifications and personal records have featured in political and legal disputes for several years.
During litigation arising from the 2023 presidential election, opposition parties challenged aspects of Tinubu’s academic credentials and documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The Supreme Court ultimately upheld Tinubu’s election, while the President has consistently maintained that he met the constitutional requirements to contest and hold office.
The Presidency has also previously defended Tinubu’s academic qualifications and personal records, dismissing allegations questioning his eligibility as politically motivated.
Odinkalu’s latest comments are therefore part of a continuing public debate over the President’s personal, educational and political records, with supporters and critics of the administration maintaining sharply different positions on the issue.
