The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s appeal to prevent the release of his academic credentials by Chicago State University (CSU) to Atiku Abubakar.
Earlier, a ruling by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert in the United States’ district Court of Northern Illinois had ordered CSU to release all relevant records regarding President Tinubu to Atiku Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election.
President Tinubu filed an appeal against this ruling, but Judge Nancy Maldonado, presiding over the case, overruled President Tinubu’s objections and adopted Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling in full. This means that CSU will be required to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to Atiku Abubakar’s subpoena by October 2, 2023. Additionally, the deposition of CSU’s corporate designee must be completed by October 3, 2023.
The case revolves around Atiku Abubakar’s challenge to the validity of President Tinubu’s election in the Nigerian presidential election of February 2023. Atiku Abubakar alleges that President Tinubu submitted a forged diploma from CSU to the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming that he graduated from the university. Atiku Abubakar seeks access to CSU’s records and testimony related to President Tinubu’s diploma and graduation to support his challenge to the election results.