Breaking News : US Court orders Chicago University To Release Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku

President Bola Tinubu’s academic records must be released to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by Tuesday, per an order from a court in the United States.

Nancy Maldonado, the presiding judge, rejected Tinubu’s objection and gave CSU two days to hand over the documents to Atiku.

She also reaffirmed Atiku’s right to access the records, reiterating the September 20 ruling of US Magistrate Judge Jeffery Gilbert, who ordered the CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records as requested by Atiku.

Judge Gilbert’s recommended decision [40] is adopted in full, and the Court rejects President Tinubu’s objections [(44)] for the reasons stated in the Court’s accompanying Memorandum Opinion and Order.

Justice Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois ruled, “The Court therefore grants Mr. Abubakar’s application under 28 U.S.C. 1782. [1]”

The judge has ordered that by Tuesday at 5 p.m., CSU will have submitted all required paperwork for the release.

The court ordered that by noon Central Daylight Time (CDT) on Monday, October 2, 2023, Respondent CSU must 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 Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. CDT, the Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU’s corporate designee must be concluded.

To bolster his case challenging the President’s election on February 25th, Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had petitioned the US District Court in Northern Illinois to compel the university to release Tinubu’s academic records.

In preparation for the 2023 presidential election, the PDP candidate had requested the records so that he could use them to prove that Tinubu had forged a certificate he claimed to have obtained from CSU in 1979 and submitted to INEC.