Chicago State University finally releases Tinubu’s school records to Atiku

• Tinubu had supplied certificates from the Chicago State University, CSU, to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to secure eligibility to participate in the election
• A United States of America court on Saturday ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records for verification and in support of Atiku’s petition challenging the result of the 2023 presidential poll

The Chicago State University, CSU, has released the school documents of President Bola Tinubu to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku obtained victory at the court in his fierce legal battle to probe into the academic qualification of Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll.

Tinubu had supplied certificates from the Chicago State University, CSU, to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to secure eligibility to participate in the election.

A United States of America court on Saturday ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records for verification and in support of Atiku’s petition challenging the result of the 2023 presidential poll.

Justice Nancy Maldonado in a judgment dismissed the objection raised by Tinubu against Atiku’s request and expressly ordered that the CSU must submit the academic records to Atiku.

And the school has obeyed the court order, releasing the documents on Monday night.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu’s legal team has projected the outcome of the appeal filed at the Supreme Court by Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against the tribunal judgment upholding Tinubu’s election.

The attorneys of Tinubu however scoffed at the ruling, dismissing its ability to turn the legal tide against their client.

Documents to be obtained by Abubakar at the United States court will be inconsequential for his appeal at the Apex Court, one of President Bola Tinubu’s attorneys, Oluwole Afolabi, said.

“The Electoral Act does not allow for the introduction of new evidence on appeal. A party must provide a list of the documents he intends to rely on at the time his Petition is filed.

“A party cannot spring surprise on his adversary by introducing evidence that was not filed along with the petition,” he said.

In the wake of the Court’s verdict, Tinubu’s New York-based lawyer, Afolabi, revealed the reason for his opposition.

First he noted is that “the Nigerian election proceedings and the Nigerian courts have explicitly been unreceptive to the discovery.

His second reason is that Atiku’s request “is unduly intrusive because it allows the applicant (Atiku) to conduct a fishing expedition into the intervenor’s private, confidential, and protected educational records.”

Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Tinubu’s personal lawyer, Babatunde Ogala, echoed a similar view, saying, “The headless mob is masturbating over nothing. The documents can no longer be used. It is of no value. We have passed that stage.

“One is whether President Tinubu attended Chicago State University. The answer is yes. Second, what were his grades in school? The school had already provided that.”