A civil society organisation, the Nigeria Integrity Movement (NIM), Thursday urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resist pressure to protect any appointee accused of document irregularities and called for an open, authoritative investigation into allegations surrounding the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

Speaking at a world press conference in Abuja, the group’s convener, Isaiah Davies Ijele, described calls by some interest groups for the president to shield the minister as dangerous and damaging to the government’s reputation for rule-based governance.

Ijele said regardless of a minister’s performance, the rule of law must take precedence and any allegation of forgery or irregularity should be fully and transparently examined.

‎“The fact that Minister Tunji-Ojo is seen as a high-performing official does not place him above the law. President Tinubu should direct the minister to submit to independent scrutiny so the public can be satisfied that the documents he submitted on nomination are authentic,” he said.

‎The call for scrutiny follows a report that raised questions about discrepancies in Tunji-Ojo’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) records.

 “We are not on a political witch-hunt. We demand truth  that if there were administrative lapses at the NYSC, those must be fixed; if the minister’s documents are flawed, the law must take its course,” he stated.