.US. Court Orders Chicago State University to Disclose Bola Tinubu’s Records to Atiku Abubakar

U.S. Court Orders Chicago State University to Disclose Bola Tinubu’s Records to Atiku Abubakar

In a significant development, Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar has achieved a crucial legal victory in the United States in his endeavor to establish Bola Tinubu’s ineligibility for Nigeria's presidency. A federal court in Chicago has ruled that Chicago State University (CSU) must furnish Mr. Abubakar with all documents pertaining to Mr. Tinubu within the next two days. This decision stems from Mr. Abubakar's pursuit to obtain evidence supporting his claim. The ruling, as reported by Wind Chronicles, also mandates a deposition of designated CSU officials within two days of document release, with the possibility of proceedings extending to the weekend if necessary.

Judge Jeffrey Gilbert emphasized that Atiku Abubakar's application for discovery has been granted, and CSU is required to produce relevant non-privileged documents within the specified time frame. Following this order, Mr. Abubakar promptly appealed to the Supreme Court, contesting the judgment of the presidential election petitions tribunal on September 6, which upheld Mr. Tinubu's victory.

On August 2, Mr. Abubakar initially filed an application for CSU to provide documents related to Mr. Tinubu and requested permission to have the school's administrators verify these documents under oath. These documents are crucial in Mr. Abubakar's ongoing challenge against Mr. Tinubu's election earlier this year. He argues that Mr. Tinubu should not have been allowed to run for president due to the submission of a forged document under oath, a violation of the Nigerian Constitution.

According to Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution, which was amended in 2010, a person cannot be validly elected as Nigeria's president if they have submitted a counterfeit certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

In June 2022, Mr. Tinubu provided INEC with a certificate allegedly dated 1979 and bearing Elnora Daniel's signature. This has sparked doubts, as Ms. Daniel didn't join CSU until 1998, which was after Mr. Tinubu was believed to have completed his studies. These discrepancies led Mr. Abubakar to file a lawsuit, seeking to compel CSU to release records pertaining to Mr. Tinubu and arrange for key officials to testify and verify the authenticity of the documents.

During a hearing on September 12, CSU's lawyer, Michael Hayes, stated that the school could not authenticate Mr. Tinubu’s certificate if asked under oath. Conversely, Christopher Carmichael, representing Mr. Tinubu, contested Mr. Abubakar's request, dismissing it as an unsubstantiated endeavor to damage the reputation of the Nigerian president.

Judge Gilbert emphasized that courts across the U.S. traditionally take a broad and liberal view when considering applications under Section 1782, which allows the release of documents and evidence from the U.S. for use in a foreign proceeding.