The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has issued an order requiring Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic credentials of President Bola Tinubu.
There have been allegations of discrepancies in his certificate.
Tinubu’s credentials indicate that he graduated from CSU in 1979. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, and management.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate in the 2023 election, had approached the court to compel the university to release Tinubu’s records.
Atiku argued that these documents would strengthen his case challenging the president’s electoral victory.
On September 19, a US magistrate judge, Jeffrey Gilbert, granted Atiku’s request. Judge Gilbert ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records within 24 hours.
Tinubu subsequently filed an appeal against this order, and Atiku asked the US district court to overrule Tinubu’s objection.
The university has indicated its readiness to release the president’s files if a US court grants the order.
In a memorandum opinion and order issued by Judge Nancy Maldonado, the court overruled Tinubu’s objections to Atiku’s application.
The Memorandum reads:
“In the reasons stated in this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Court overrules President Tinubu’s objections and adopts Judge Gilbert’s recommended decision in full,” the court said.
“The Court therefore grants Mr. Abubakar’s application under 28 U.S.C 1782. CSU is directed to respond to Mr. Abubakar’s subpoena in the time and manner provided for below. In reaching this conclusion, the Court emphasizes that it is expressing no view on the merits of Mr. Abubakar’s claims regarding President Tinubu’s graduation from CSU, or on the validity of the Nigerian election.
“Nor is the Court taking any position on what any of the documents or testimony from CSU may or may not ultimately show. These are all matters for the Nigerian courts to resolve under the Nigerian law, and it is not appropriate for this U.S. Court to opine on such issues or attempt to predict how foreign courts might ultimately rule if and when they are presented with any evidence from CSU.”
