A United States (US) Court has ordered Chicago State University (CSU) to deliver President Bola Tinubu’s academic records to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by Tuesday.
Nancy Maldonado, the presiding judge, dismissed Tinubu’s argument and gave CSU a two-day deadline to provide the materials to Atiku.
She also affirmed US Magistrate Judge Jeffery Gilbert’s September 20 judgement ordering the CSU to produce Tinubu’s academic records as requested by Atiku, emphasizing that the PDP candidate had the right to view the information.
“For the reasons stated in the Court’s accompanying Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Court overrules President Tinubu’s objections (44] and adopts Judge Gilbert’s recommended decision [40] in full.
“The Court therefore grants Mr. Abubakar’s application under 28 U.S.C. § 1782. [1],” Justice Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois ruled.
The judge has ordered that CSU complete all relevant filings surrounding the release by 5 pm CDT on Tuesday.
The court ruled, “Respondent CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to Requests for Production Nos. 1 through 4 (as narrowed by Judge Gilbert and adopted by the District Court in its opinion) in Mr. Abubakar’s subpoena, by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT, on Monday, October 2, 2023.
“The Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU’s corporate designee must be completed by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.”
Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had petitioned the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to compel the university to release Tinubu’s academic records, arguing that doing so would strengthen his suit challenging the President’s election in the February 25 presidential election.
The PDP candidate had requested the documents in order to support his claim that Tinubu forged a certificate he claimed to have obtained from CSU in 1979 and submitted to Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the 2023 presidential election.
