The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims that it had commenced investigations into allegations of criminal forfeiture against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
It could be recalled Tinubu had been seriously attacked lately following the release of documents alleging that some funds belonging to him were seized by the United States Government in 1989 for being proceeds of drug trafficking.
On Friday, a press release purported to have been issued by INEC had surfaced online, claiming that the Commission has commenced an investigation into the case of criminal forfeiture against Tinubu.
The letter stated that the commission was liaising with a court in the United States to determine a possible violation of Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2022.
However, on Saturday, INEC has debunked the claims stating categorically that the said press release did not emanate from the Commission, neither is it pursuing any investigation against the APC candidate.
“It is the handiwork of mischief makers and utterly fake,” a statement by the INEC spokesperson, Festus Okoye, read.
He further said that statements from the Commission are always uploaded to the INEC Press Corps platform “and simultaneously disseminated through our website and official social media handles.”
He, therefore, advised the public to ignore the press release, tagging it as fake news.