President Bola Tinubu has requested that a federal judge in the United States of America provide only his university certificate to his political opponent, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. However, the president has pleaded with Judge Nancy Maldonado to block access to all other details, including gender and admission records, from Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Legal Battle
Tinubu’s request comes as part of an ongoing legal battle taking place in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.
During the filing, a man named Olajide Adeniji, who claims to have attended school with Tinubu from 1977 to 1979, submitted an affidavit. The case was brought by Abubakar, who is attempting to prove that Tinubu was ineligible to be the Nigerian president despite his election in February 2023.
Slimmest Margin
Tinubu won the election by a narrow margin of 36 percent of the vote. This victory came after Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi of the Labour Party LP, fell out, dividing their potential votes and ultimately paving the way for Tinubu’s victory on February 25.
Tinubu’s decision to release his certificate comes after narrowly avoiding full disclosure on September 21. He pleaded severe harm to his life to obtain a stay of a magistrate judge’s order on September 19.
“There is harm in allowing discovery on issues and documents outside the diploma,” Tinubu’s lawyers stated in their briefing to the court. They are seeking a review of Judge Jeffrey Gilbert’s order by Judge Maldonado.
The identity of the person admitted into Chicago State University CSU in the 1970s has been a controversial issue, as college transcripts indicate the admission of a female Bola Tinubu from Southwest College Chicago in 1977.
Alternative Direction
While Tinubu’s lawyers insist that the documents sought by Abubakar would not be admissible in the Supreme Court, they have nevertheless anticipated the potential for an unfavorable ruling. As a result, they have given the judge an alternative direction: to provide an order strictly certifying the certificate that Tinubu presented to run for election.
Judge Gilbert’s ruling last week required CSU administrators to confirm under oath whether or not the certificate presented by Tinubu in Nigeria is genuine. The officials were also required to produce a certificate issued to a CSU graduate in 1979, along with the person’s identification, as well as any communications relating to a letter the school issued to Tinubu in 2022.
Tinubu fears that allowing the deposition of CSU officials to proceed could cause severe and irreparable damage to his life. He argues that Abubakar is only conducting a fishing expedition to fuel online conspiracy theories.
