President Bola Tinubu received a reprieve yesterday when Senior Judge Nancy Maldonado of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois halted the release of his university records to Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the February 25 election.
Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert had previously ordered Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku within 48 hours. This release was meant to support Atiku’s claim that Tinubu should not have contested the election due to alleged perjury and forgery of his CSU certificate.
Judge Maldonado, in a telephone conference ruling, granted Tinubu’s emergency application to delay the order’s enforcement until Monday, September 25, 2023. Maldonado emphasized the need for caution in handling this matter and directed Tinubu’s lawyers to file a full brief by Monday, suggesting the court might eventually follow Gilbert’s recommendation for discovery.
Atiku’s lawyers stated they would reply to the brief by 11:00 p.m. on the same day. Atiku had previously sought a mandamus order to compel CSU to release information about Tinubu’s record, citing a constitutional provision stating that presenting a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission would invalidate a presidential election.
Tinubu had submitted a certificate to INEC in June 2022, purportedly issued in 1979, but discrepancies in the timeline of the issuing authority’s presence at CSU raised doubts. CSU’s lawyer admitted they couldn’t authenticate Tinubu’s certificate under oath. Tinubu’s legal team argued against Atiku’s application, labeling it an attempt to tarnish the Nigerian president’s image.
Ultimately, Judge Gilbert referred to Section 1782, a statute allowing the release of U.S.-domiciled documents and evidence for foreign proceedings, and emphasized the broad view taken by U.S. courts in granting such applications.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu, after participating in the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, departed for Paris en route to Lagos. During his time in New York, he engaged with world leaders, business leaders, and Nigerians in the diaspora.
