This could be the end of the road for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as Judge Nancy Maldonado, the presiding judge of Northern District court of Illinois in Chicago, has ordered Chicago State University—CSU, to release his academic records to his opponent, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Judge Nancy Maldonado in her landmark ruling, adopted all the ruling of Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the U.S District Court, Northern District of Illinois, which had earlier ordered the immediate release of the academic records of Bola Tinubu by the Chicago State University.
Judge Maldonado gave Chicago State University—CSU until 12pm on Monday to release the documents and the deposition of officials of CSU completed by 5pm CDT on Tuesday.
Also, the Judge further warned Tinubu against further appeal as the Court would not entertain such.
The ruling marks a major blow to Mr Tinubu and a huge victory for Mr Abubakar, who has been seeking the records to establish that Mr Tinubu presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission when he submitted his application to run for president in June 2022.
Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
Prior to the ruling late Saturday night, Judge Maldonado had acknowledged the significant public interest dimension of the case, saying it would cause her to expedite justice for all parties.
The president did not deny the charges that the certificate was forged, especially as it was purportedly signed by administrators who were not even at the school when he graduated in 1979, but only insisted, alongside the school, that he attended and graduated.
He also said releasing the documents with deposition would cause him severe harm because they were private to him and would not be admissible in the ongoing petition against him in Nigeria, an argument that further fueled nationwide concern about what the president might have been hiding about himself from Nigerians.
The CSU said it would state under oath that Mr Tinubu attended, but it won’t be able to certify the authenticity of the certificate he paraded in Nigeria under oath.
Mr Abubakar’s lawyers would now be able to test the school’s claims, alongside Mr Tinubu’s, during tomorrow’s records release and cross-examination.
Updates soon…
