In a significant victory for presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Atiku Abubakar, a federal court in the United States has ordered Chicago State University CSU to release all records related to Bola Tinubu within two days.
The court, presided over by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, also required CSU officials to provide a deposition within two days after the records’ release, with the option of conducting it on a non-weekday if necessary.
According to Peoples Gazette, the ruling acknowledged that Atiku Abubakar had valid reasons for seeking these records to challenge Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to run for Nigeria’s presidency.
Judge Gilbert cited Section 1782, a statute allowing the release of documents and evidence from the U.S. for use in foreign proceedings. This was the basis for granting Abubakar’s application.
The order follows Atiku Abubakar’s appeal to the Supreme Court. The former vice president lodged the appeal after the presidential election petitions tribunal’s decision on September 6, upheld Tinubu’s victory. Abubakar initially filed an application on August 2, requesting CSU to produce documents related to Mr. Tinubu and seek the school’s administrators’ authentication of these documents submitted under oath.
Atiku Abubakar contended that President Tinubu should not have been allowed to run for president due to alleged submission of a forged document under oath, a violation of the Nigerian Constitution’s Section 137 (1)(j).
Controversial Document
In June 2022, Mr. Tinubu presented a certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC purportedly issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. However, Ms. Daniel arrived at CSU in 1998, 19 years after Tinubu’s supposed graduation. She left the school in 2008, 14 years before CSU issued yet another certificate in Tinubu’s name in June 2022, following a subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer inquiring about his education there.
Atiku Abubakar’s legal team argued that these irregularities warranted CSU to produce records related to Mr. Tinubu. They also compel the university to certify them under oath. During a hearing on September 12, CSU’s lawyer, Michael Hayes, stated that the school could not authenticate Mr. Tinubu’s certificate under oath, despite confirming Tinubu’s attendance and graduation in 1979.
Defense
In response, Mr. Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Christopher Carmichael, contended that Abubakar’s application was frivolous. Carmichael also stated that the suit was aimed at tarnishing the Nigerian president’s reputation. They also argued that the Nigerian Supreme Court would not accept fresh evidence not presented during the tribunal proceeding.
However, Abubakar’s legal team, led by Angela Liu, argued that the Supreme Court could consider new facts, especially when they were not available during the tribunal proceeding. Judge Gilbert emphasized that U.S. courts have typically taken a broad and liberal approach in granting applications under Section 1782.
