The academic records of Mr Bola Tinubu at the Chicago State University will be handed over to Mr. Atiku Abubakar on Monday as Judge Nancy Maldonado of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has denied the president’s emergency application to block the school from releasing his academic records as ordered earlier by a lower court.
In a court document seen by CHECKPOINTCHARLEY on Sunday morning, the judge said the decision of a lower federal magistrate judge on September 19 was appropriate and adopted it in full.
“The Court overrules President Tinubu’s objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling, and therefore adopts the ruling in full. Mr Abubakar’s application is therefore granted,” the judge ruled. ‘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.”
Ms Maldonado also ordered CSU to turn over the records to Mr Abubakar by 12:00 p.m. Monday and also make its officials available for deposition to authenticate the documents by 5:00 p.m. on the same day.
She warned that any attempt by Mr Tinubu to appeal the judgement in the district would no longer be tolerated as Mr Abubakar must transfer the collected evidence to the Nigerian Supreme Court for use in an ongoing election petition case by October 5.
“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 here) in Mr. Abubakar’s subpoena, by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT, on Monday, October 2, 2023,” she added. “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. Given the October 5, 2023, filing deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court will not extend or modify these deadlines.”
The judge, however, said Tinubu is free to appeal directly before the Seventh Circuit, which is the main appellate court overseeing Illinois and nearby states.
That means the president has less than twenty-fours to appeal, and its unlikely his lawyers could beat the deadline.
This decision is a major blow to Mr. Tinubu who had fought tooth and nail to prevent the release of the said records.
Mr. Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who came second in the February Presidential Election, according to disputed results declared by the electoral umpire, is seeking Tinubu’s records in his bid to prove that the degree certificate he submitted to INEC was forged – and therefore unqualified to stand for election.
Both Atiku and Peter Obi of the Labour Party had appealled the unfavourable decision of the Presidential Election Tribunal of September 6, which affirmed Tinubu’s controversial election victory.
“The June 22 diploma has indicia of forgery,” Angela Liu, the U.S. attorney representing Mr Abubakar, told the court on Wednesday.
Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
Judge Jeffrey Gilbert had on September 20 ordered CSU to release Mr Tinubu’s records but the president begged Ms Maldonado to delay the order’s enforcement, pleading “severe and irreparable damage to his life.”
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