The United States District Court
for the Northern District of Illinois has ordered Chicago State University
(CSU) to release the credentials of President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu's credentials show that he
graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in business administration,
accounting and management; but there have been allegations bordering on
discrepancies in his certificate.
Former Vice-President Atiku
Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election,
had approached the court seeking to compel the university to release Tinubu's
records on the grounds that the documents would strengthen his suit challenging
the president's electoral victory.
On September 19, Jeffrey Gilbert, a US magistrate judge, granted the request and ordered CSU to release Tinubu's academic records within 24 hours.
Tinubu, however, filed an appeal
against the order. Atiku also asked the US district court to overrule Tinubu's
objection.
The university also said it will
release the president's files if a US court grants the order.
In a memorandum opinion and order issued by Nancy Maldonado, the judge, the court overruled Tinubu's objections to the application filed by Atiku seeking the release of the president's record with the university.
"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."
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Now the chicken is come home to roost. Can’t wait to see the details
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