THE Chicago State University (CSU) has until Tuesday, October 3, to give former Vice President Atiku Abubakar access to President Bola Tinubu’s academic records, the US Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago has ruled.
Tinubu’s argument was overruled by the presiding judge, Nancy Maldonado, who gave CSU two days to grant Atiku access to the records. This was contained in a copy of the judgement obtained by THE ICIR.
She emphasised that the PDP candidate Atiku had a legal right to examine the data while upholding the September 20 decision of US Magistrate Judge Jeffery Gilbert, who ordered the CSU to reveal Tinubu’s academic records as requested by Gilbert.
“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 CSU to finish all paperwork related to the release by Tuesday at 5 p.m.
“Respondent CSU is directed to produce all pertinent and non-privileged documents in response to Requests for Production Nos. 1 through 4 in Mr. Abubakar’s subpoena by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT on Monday, October 2, 2023 (as narrowed by Judge Gilbert and adopted by the District Court in its opinion).”
“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,” a part of the judgment read.
Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 25 poll, asked the US District Court in Northern Illinois to order the release of Tinubu’s academic records on the grounds that doing so would support his lawsuit contesting the President’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.
The PDP candidate had requested the documents for use in Nigerian courts to support his claim that Tinubu falsified a certificate he purportedly obtained from CSU in 1979 and submitted to Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the 2023 presidential election.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org