In a recent ruling by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge Nancy Maldonado has ordered Chicago State University (CSU) to release President Bola Tinubu’s academic records to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar. The court directed that the academic records be made available to Atiku Abubakar by Monday, October 2.
Judge Maldonado’s decision was based on the fact that CSU had raised no objections to Judge Jeffery Gilbert’s previous recommendation that President Tinubu’s academic record should be made public. The court weighed the privacy interests of President Tinubu against Atiku Abubakar’s interest in obtaining the requested information and concluded that Atiku’s interest in discovery outweighed any intrusion on Tinubu’s privacy.
The court overruled President Tinubu’s objections to Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling and fully adopted the ruling. In accordance with the expedited schedule set by the court, CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents, and a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU’s corporate designee must be completed by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
This ruling comes in the context of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, set for October 5, 2023. The court has emphasized that it will not extend or modify the given deadlines in light of this impending deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
This legal development adds to the ongoing discourse surrounding the presidential election and the respective candidates’ eligibility.