Tinubu's Chicago academic record

Tinubu's Legal Team Expresses Discontent as Court Mandates Disclosure of Chicago Academic Records

The United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois has issued a ruling in favor of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. They have ordered Chicago State University to release President Bola Tinubu's academic records by today (Monday).

However, Tinubu's legal team is adamant that these documents are irrelevant to Atiku's appeal against Tinubu in the Supreme Court. The PUNCH reported that Atiku had previously obtained an order from a US magistrate compelling CSU to provide Tinubu's academic records to his legal team within two days. These records include Tinubu's admission and acceptance records at Chicago State University, attendance dates, as well as degrees, awards, and honors received from CSU.

As the magistrate's deadline approached, Tinubu's lawyers approached the US high court, arguing that the magistrate's decision needed to be reviewed by a district judge. The request for a review and a delay of the magistrate's order until Monday was granted by the US district judge.

Tinubu's application, submitted by his New York-based lawyer, Oluwole Afolabi, cited two reasons for objection. First, it argued that the academic records in question are not useful in Nigerian courts, as Nigerian election proceedings and courts have historically not been receptive to such discovery. Second, it claimed that Atiku's request is overly intrusive as it allows for an unwarranted examination of Tinubu's private, confidential, and protected educational records.

In response, Atiku filed a fresh response in Chicago, Illinois, urging the court to reject Tinubu's request entirely. In a new judgment obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday, the court noted that CSU did not object to Judge Jeffrey Gilbert's decision to make the academic records public.

The court held that Atiku's interest outweighed any intrusion on Tinubu's privacy concerning his educational records. The judge overruled Tinubu's objections to the magistrate's ruling, and as a result, granted Atiku's application. To meet the impending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline of October 5, 2023, the court set an expedited schedule for the completion of discovery, directing CSU to produce relevant, non-privileged documents and a corporate designee for deposition.

However, the judge emphasized that his verdict does not express any view on the merits of Atiku's claims against President Tinubu, his graduation from CSU, or the validity of the Nigerian election. It solely acknowledges Atiku's entitlement to the documents and testimony he requested from CSU.

In response to the verdict, a member of the PDP National Executive Council, National Deputy Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, described President Tinubu's appeal as unnecessary and suggested that the US judgment would bolster Atiku's case before the Supreme Court.

Efforts to reach the spokesman for the All Progressives Congress, Felix Morka, were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, one of President Tinubu's attorneys, Oluwole Afolabi, downplayed the significance of his academic documents, stating that they would be of no use in Atiku's Supreme Court appeal in Nigeria. Afolabi argued that the Electoral Act does not allow for the introduction of new evidence on appeal and emphasized that Tinubu's attendance and grades at Chicago State University had already been provided.

Similarly, the Coordinator of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), stated that the documents were no longer usable and of no value, clarifying that it was established that President Tinubu attended Chicago State University and that his grades had been disclosed.