Chicago, USA – September 25, 2023:*
President Bola Tinubu has consented to allow a federal judge in the United States to provide his university certificate to his political opponent, Atiku Abubakar. However, Mr. Tinubu has requested that Judge Nancy Maldonado block the disclosure of all other details, particularly gender, admission records, and other personal information related to the certificate holder.
This development emerged during an ongoing legal battle at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The case was initiated by Mr. Abubakar, who has been pursuing legal action to challenge Mr. Tinubu’s eligibility for the Nigerian presidency, despite his election victory in February 2023.
In the election, Mr. Tinubu secured victory with 36 percent of the vote after a split between Mr. Abubakar and his former running mate, Peter Obi, resulted in the division of potential votes. This division ultimately led to Mr. Tinubu’s victory by the narrowest margin in Nigerian presidential election history.
Mr. Tinubu’s decision to allow the release of his certificate follows a previous attempt to prevent full disclosure on September 21. In that instance, he cited potential harm to his life as a reason to secure a stay of a magistrate judge’s order issued on September 19.
In the court documents submitted by Mr. Tinubu’s legal team, they argued that there would be harm in permitting the discovery of documents and issues beyond the diploma itself.
The controversy surrounding the identity of the individual admitted to Chicago State University in the 1970s emerged when college transcripts indicated that the university admitted a person named Bola Tinubu from Southwest College Chicago in 1977. The revelation has become a contentious issue in the ongoing legal dispute.
