In compliance with a United States District Court in Northern District of Illinois order, Chicago State University (CSU) has released academic records of President Bola Tinubu to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The US district judge overruled President Tinubu’s objections to the release of the records, allowing Atiku’s application.
The judge’s ruling stated that CSU must produce relevant and non-privileged documents and complete the Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU’s corporate designee by October 3, 2023, in light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline on October 5, 2023. The court emphasized that these deadlines would not be extended or modified.
In response to Atiku’s requests, CSU mentioned that they do not normally retain copies of student diplomas and could not locate the original diploma issued to Mr. Tinubu in 1979, thus having no documents responsive to this particular request.
Atiku’s aim is to use these academic records in his appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election. However, Tinubu’s legal team has argued that these documents hold no significance in the Supreme Court case.