U.S. Court Agrees Chicago State University Can Delay Releasing Tinubu’s Academic Records

 

A United States court has given an order delaying the execution of an earlier order to the Chicago State University to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

At an emergency hearing on Thursday, a judge of the District Court of Northern Illinois, Eastern Division, Nancy Maldonado, agreed to delay an order requiring Chicago State University to provide the academic documents of President Tinubu.

The order brings a reprieve to the Chicago State University and Mr. Tinubu in their fierce efforts to convince the court against ordering the release of the requested documents.

On the other hand, the ruling amounts to a setback for Atiku who is racing against time to obtain the documents for use in his ongoing legal challenge of Mr Tinubu’s victory in the 25 February election in the Nigerian courts.

Both the Nigerian and U.S. proceedings have garnered interest internationally.

Mr Tinubu had filed the emergency motion to halt Chicago State University (CSU) from releasing his academic records to Atiku.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. court ordered Chicago State University to release “all relevant and non-privileged documents” to Atiku within two days.

The Magistrate Judge, who oversaw the hearing, Jeffrey Gilbert, ordered CSU to release the documents to Atiku by the end of Thursday.

But Mr Tinubu asked the court to delay the implementation of that order until at least Monday, 25 September.

Request granted

Mr Tinubu’s lawyers had, in their emergency motion, requested a review of the magistrate judge’s decision by a district judge.

The request was granted by Ms Maldonado on Thursday.

Ms Maldonado ordered the lawyers on both sides to file additional arguments by next Thursday, 28 September.

Mindful of legal deadlines in the Nigerian Supreme Court, Ms Maldonado said she would rule as quickly as possible after that. “I will have a busy weekend,” she said.

“The issue is of process and rules. I’m a rule person; that’s why I’m a judge. This case is quite involved. I am aware of the stakes. It’s more important to me to get this right,” CBS News quoted her as saying.

Mr Tinubu’s political rival, Atiku, alleged that documents showing that Mr Tinubu graduated from Chicago State in 1979 are not authentic, and that is grounds to nullify Mr Tinubu’s election victory earlier this year.

The university says it can confirm that the president graduated from CSU. However, it cannot authenticate the diploma certificate in question because it is a ceremonial document, not part of a student’s official academic file.

Atiku came second behind Mr Tinubu in February’s election and has challenged the result at the Presidential Election Petition Court. That challenge was dismissed, but Atiku has appealed against the judgement at the Supreme Court.

At the hearing by the U.S. district judge on Thursday, Chicago State University lawyer Michael Hayes said the university wanted clarity and is ready to provide the requested documents once the legal issues are resolved.

“We don’t have a dog in this fight,” said Mr Hayes, adding that the university has amassed significant legal fees and unwarranted bad public relations because of the political fight in a foreign land.

Documents requested by Atiku

The former vice president requested four documents from Chicago State University:

(1) An example of a Chicago State University diploma issued to President Tinubu in 1979.

(2) Mr Tinubu’s diploma was issued in 1979.

(3) Any example of a Chicago State University diploma that “contains the same font, seal, signatures, and wording as contained in Exhibit C to the First Liu Declaration, which purports to be a CSU diploma issued to Mr Tinubu on or about June 22, 1979.”

(4) CSU documents certified and produced by Jamar Orr, an associate general counsel at CSU at the time.

Chicago State University statement

“As an educational institution, we are sometimes asked to provide information related to student records. A federal law known as FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student records and limits what an institution can release.

“In August 2023, a request was made in U.S. federal court by a third party for the university to provide information related to educational records concerning Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, and a former CSU student. The university can confirm that Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree. Federal law, however, prevents us from providing any further information without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order.

“It is important to note that the university is not a party to the Nigerian legal proceedings that spurred this request. We are confident in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s completion of graduation requirements and degree certificates.

“Our response to the request for Tinubu’s academic records has been entirely consistent with our practices, policies and federal law. We would respond in the same manner for any request for any student information by a third party,” the statement read.

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