In a significant legal development, the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois has ruled in favor of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar. The court has issued an order mandating Chicago State University (CSU) to release President Bola Tinubu’s academic records by Monday.
Atiku’s legal team had previously secured an order from US Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert, directing CSU to provide all relevant and non-privileged documents related to Bola Tinubu’s educational history within two days. These documents include Tinubu’s record of admission, dates of attendance, as well as degrees, awards, and honors obtained from CSU.
As the deadline for compliance with the magistrate’s order approached, Tinubu’s lawyers sought a review of the decision by a district judge. They argued that these academic records were not relevant to Nigerian courts and that Atiku’s request was overly intrusive into Tinubu’s private educational records.
In response, Atiku filed a fresh response in Chicago, Illinois, requesting the court to overrule Tinubu’s objections. The US district judge, Maldonado, noted that CSU did not object to Judge Gilbert’s decision to make the academic records public and ruled in favor of Atiku, asserting that Atiku’s interest outweighed any privacy concerns Tinubu had regarding his educational records.
Judge Gilbert fully adopted the magistrate’s ruling, setting an expedited schedule for the completion of discovery. CSU was directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents and to make a witness available for a deposition by October 3, 2023, in accordance with the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline of October 5, 2023.
However, the judge clarified that his verdict did not express any opinion on the merits of Atiku’s claims against President Tinubu or the validity of the Nigerian election. It solely focused on the question of whether Atiku was entitled to the production of documents and testimony from CSU.
Reacting to the verdict, a member of the PDP National Executive Council, Timothy Osadolor, described Tinubu’s appeal as unnecessary and expressed confidence that the US judgment would bolster Atiku’s appeal before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
In response to the ruling, Oluwole Afolabi, one of President Tinubu’s attorneys, downplayed the significance of the academic records, citing the Electoral Act, which prohibits the introduction of new evidence on appeal. He argued that such evidence should have been presented at the time of filing the petition.
Similarly, Babatunde Ogala, the Coordinator of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, stated that the documents had limited value and had already been provided by the university.
This ruling marks a crucial development in the ongoing legal battle between Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu, and it is expected to have far-reaching implications for the upcoming Supreme Court proceedings in Nigeria.