Chicago University promises to release Tinubu’s records on one condition

Chicago State University (CSU) has promised to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu if it gets an order to do so from a United States court.

This was made known in a document shared by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on social media on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

The Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had asked a US court for the northern district of Illinois in Chicago to order the university to release Tinubu’s academic records.

Tinubu’s credentials state that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting and management, but Atiku believes he has conflicting academic records.

In the application filed before the US court, Atiku believes the release of Tinubu’s academic records would settle the controversy surrounding his academic background.

However, in its response to Atiku’s application, the university said it does not “understand” why Tinubu’s records “could possibly have any bearing on a 2023 election challenge in a foreign country.”

The institution said some of the requests in the application were inappropriate.

The university said, “Finally, in the event the Court determines to allow any discovery to proceed here, the University urges the Court to direct only limited, targeted discovery on the University.

“As leave to issue any discovery has not yet been granted, and the Court’s views on what if any discovery is appropriate here under 28 U.S.C. §1782 are not yet known, it is premature for the University to raise objections to the scope of the documents and information sought in Abubakar’s two subpoenas.

“But without limiting further objections, which the University expressly reserves, the University notes that the scope and relevancy of certain of Abubakar’s requests are clearly inappropriate.

According to the university, the ‘inappropriate requests’ include document subpoena Request №5, which “seeks information on diplomas issued by the University for a 44-year period (1979 to the present), and Abubakar’s deposition subpoena Topic №7 seeks information on the employment status and reasons for departure of a former employee in the University’s General Counsel’s Office.”

“Following this Court’s ruling on the application, should any discovery be permitted, the University will meet and confer promptly and in good faith with Abubakar’s counsel to attempt to address all the University’s concerns,” the university said.