Why Chicago University Should Not Release My Academic Records to Atiku, Tinubu Tells US Court
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally responded to the application of Atiku Abubakar seeking the release of his Chicago State University Academic records
- According to the response document obtained by Legit.ng, President Tinubu gave reasons why releasing his academic records was irrelevant
- The President said releasing his academic records would hold no legal relevance to Nigeria's presidential election petition tribunal because it is already in its penultimate stage
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FCT, Abuja - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given reasons why a United States Court should not release his academic records at the Chicago State University in Illinois.
The President stated this in a response document to the legal application filed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar seeking the release of his academic records.
Source: Facebook
According to the document made available to Legit.ng on Thursday, August 24, President Tinubu argued that Atiku does not need his academic records for the presidential election petition in Nigeria, which is already at its penultimate stage.
While the tribunal was ongoing, Atiku and his legal team never mentioned his academic records in their petitions filed before the tribunal, the document stated.
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President Tinubu said since the tribunal is already closed, Atiku can't introduce any other exhibit as it is irrelevant to the court.
Tinubu's response document reads:
"Because Chicago State University "resides" in the Northern District of Illinois, Mr. Abubakar’s Application satisfies the first of section 1782's three jurisdictional requirements; but the Application falters on the other two because the discovery sought is not for use in election challenge pending in the Nigerian election court, and Mr. Abubakar is not a party to the other Nigerian proceedings where he assumes the information might be relevant."
Disparities over Tinubu's academic records
Meanwhile, the response by Tinubu, as contained in the document, revealed that an unidentified university clerk made errors regarding the dates the school stated on his recently-issued certificate and when he graduated, thereby creating “the appearance of differences.”
Atiku had subpoenaed the University to discover Tinubu’s academic records, believing that such discoveries would shed more light on the controversies surrounding Tinubu’s educational claims.
There have been crises of authenticity regarding the documents that Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a viral document that the CSU in the 1970s admitted a female student bearing Bola Tinubu, who was born on March 29, 1954.
There have also been controversies over President Tinubu’s date of birth.
The flame of controversy around President Tinubu’s academic records began to burn when, in 1999, during his run for the Lagos State governorship position, he claimed to have attended schools in Nigeria, including Government College Ibadan, which he later rescinded.
However, the documents being sought by Atiku seeks to highlight which early education credentials Tinubu submitted to CSU before he was admitted into the university, a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's media aide, stated.
Chicago University agrees to drop Tinubu’s academic records after Atiku's request, gives condition
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Chicago State University has agreed to release President Tinubu's academic records to court.
However, the university said it would do so until it has a complete understanding of the development between Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the PDP in the 2023 presidential election, and the court gives the order.
Also, the Chicago State University reiterated that President Tinubu graduated from the institution, clearing the controversies on Tinubu's education.
Source: Legit.ng
