THE Chicago State University (CSU) has released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu as ordered by a judge, Nancy Maldonado of the US District Court of Illinois.
The release followed a request by Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election.
The ICIR reported on Sunday, October 1, that the US district court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered the CSU to release the record.
Documents released by the CSU stated that Tinubu attended the institution. It also showed that the President graduated from Government College, Lagos, in 1970.
This has, however, generated controversy because investigation shows that the College was founded in 1974.
On request number two, which demands a true and correct copy of any diploma issued by CSU in 1979 to Tinubu, the university states, “CSU does not in the ordinary course keep copies of student diplomas, and after diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr Tinubu in 1979, hence has no documents responsive to this request.”
In answer to Abubakar’s third request to produce a copy of the diplomas issued in 1997, CSU stated that the certificates follow the structure of the Tinubu replacement dated June 27, 1997.
The institution complied with Abubakar’s request and provided several samples of diplomas (certificates) granted to other students in 1979.
For the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu presented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a duplicate of the CSU diploma, having earlier claimed to have misplaced his original certificates.
The samples of diplomas from 1997 that CSU released have the same font and logo as those Tinubu submitted to INEC, but the date is different.
In its declaration, CSU had admitted guilt and blamed clerical mistakes for the disparity.
Tinubu was addressed as a “Mr” in what appeared to be an admission letter in the new CSU records.
Additionally, he checked the “male” box on the undergraduate admissions application.
However, some online transcripts contain “F,” which denotes “female.”
The CSU granted Atiku’s four requests and the documents that went viral late Monday night.
Other documents made public besides the copies of CSU certificates included a Southwest College Transcript that Tinubu allegedly used to enrol in CSU in September 1977.
The released records contained 32 documents, and the CSU staff deposition is today in court.
Today’s deposition would bring clearness to all the subjects.
Tinubu’s primary and secondary schools have long been the focus of intense debate, along with his tertiary institution records among his political opponents.
Atiku had asked a US magistrate court for a discovery order requiring the CSU to provide Tinubu’s academic records on August 2.
The US Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert approved the motion on September 19 and mandated that CSU promptly produce the records.
Similarly, the US District Court rejected Tinubu’s opposition to the Magistrate Court’s ruling and ordered that the documents be released to Atiku.
“For the foregoing reasons, the court overrules President Tinubu’s objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling and, therefore, adopts the ruling in full.
“Mr Atiku’s Application is, therefore, granted. In light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, represented to the court as October 5, 2023, and based on CSU’s representations that it is ready to comply with the discovery requests and produce a witness, the court sets an expedited schedule for completion of discovery,” the judge ruled.
Even though Tinubu had protested the release and asked a district court to reconsider Jeffrey Gilbert’s application approval.
Federal judge Nancy Maldonado overruled Tinubu’s arguments and ordered CSU to publicise the President’s academic records.
Atiku, who finished second in the recent presidential election, petitioned the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to invalidate Tinubu’s victory based on alleged flagrant violations of electoral law, significant irregularities, and corrupt behaviour.
However, a five-member panel of the presidential election tribunal unanimously dismissed Atiku and the PDP’s petition on September 6 as lacking merit.
Atiku has since filed an appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance
The author and the article are very interested,Atiku and PO should go and rest ,God already made ABAT a president of this great country,, they should spend their looted money for the lawyers s,so their lawyers will build more estate in Abj and in others State