US Court orders Chicago Uni to release Tinubu’s record

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

Justice Nancy Maldonado, of the United States (US) court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, has warned that no more request for stay of execution in the order of the court to release all the documents relating to the academic records of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Chicago State University (CSU), would be entertained.
Justice Maldonado warned President Tinubu not to approach the court again for such request.
The court affirmed the judgement by Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert of the Magistrate of the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago court.
Justice Gilbert had earlier ordered the institution to release President Tinubu’s academic records by Monday, October 2, 2023.
In what represents a major victory for Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, the judge specifically mention all relevant and non-privileged documents, such as Tinubu’s admission records, transcripts, and any other documents related to his education at CSU.
Atiku, former Vice President, had filed a lawsuit in the US court seeking to compel CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records, which he argued that the records were necessary for his case in Nigeria, in which he is challenging Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, a matter that has since shifted to the Supreme Court, after the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), where it started initially, dismissed it for lacking merit.
On September 23, Tinubu appealed against the ruling of Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert, sitting at the United States’ District Court of Northern Illinois which ordered the Chicago State University (CSU) to release all relevant records pertaining to him to Atiku.
Tinubu pleaded with Judge Nancy Maldonado to block all other details, especially the gender and admission records, among others of the owner of the certificate.
In the judgment on Sunday, Justice Maldonado said: “Given the October 5, 2023, filing deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court will not extend or modify these deadlines.”