CSU releases Tinubu’s credentials with discrepancies, as alleged by Atiku
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Chicago State University (CSU), in compliance with a United States court subpoena, has released to Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the academic records of Bola Tinubu in which he identified himself as “male” but one of the admission transcripts shows it belongs to a “female”.
The transcript, obtained from Southwest College Chicago (SCC), was part of the credentials Tinubu used to gain admission into CSU in 1977.
Another SCC transcript shows Tinubu claimed to have graduated from Government College, Lagos in 1970. But the school was not founded until 1974.
CSU said it could not locate a copy of the certificate it issued to Tinubu in 1979, but found and provided copies of certificates it issued to some other students who graduated at the same time as Tinubu.
Judge Nancy Maldonado of United States District Court of Illinois of the District Court in Northern Illinois on September 30 ordered CSU to release the documents against staunch objection from Tinubu.
Previous CSU documents released under an attorney subpoena show the admission transcript owner identified herself as “female” born in “1954”, attended “Government College, Lagos”, and is a “Black American”.
Tinubu the President is obviously a male, who claims to have been born in 1952 and to be a Nigerian (not an American), and once claimed to have attended Government College, Ibadan – which he later repudiated when he could not prove it.
CSU on Monday presented to Atiku’s legal team, a cache of documents on Tinubu’s education at the institution and copies of certificates with redacted names issued to other persons about the same time Tinubu finished from the school in 1979, per reporting by Premium Times.
The documents also contained Tinubu’s admission records, and a letter dated 27 June 2022 confirming he attended the university from August 1977 to June 1979 majoring in accounting, and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honours on 22 June 1979.
One of the transcripts Tinubu used to gain admission into CSU. The owner owner identifies herself as female.
CSU confirmed in a deposition detailing its compliance with the court order that it was able to grant three of Atiku’s four requests.
It said “after diligent search”, it was able to locate and produce seven different certificates for Bachelor of Science degree it issued in 1979.
Atiku had requested the documents to compare and contrast them with the one Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) his for the 2023 presidential election.
CSU also handed to Atiku’s team:
- Documents relating to Tinubu and certified by an official of CSU, Jamar C. Orr, a lawyer.
- “After diligent search”, copies of three other diploma certificates issued to other students other than Tinubu in 1979.
This was in response to Atiku’s request for “true and correct copies of any diplomas issued by CSU (other than to Tinubu) that contain the same font, seal, signatures, and wording (other than the name of the recipient and the specific degree awarded)”.
But the university said it was unable to locate “a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr Tinubu in 1979” as requested by Atiku.
This is the kernel of Atiku’s request which is at the heart of the issue he intends to use in his legal challenge of Tinubu’s victory at the February 25 presidential election.
CSU said it “does not in the ordinary course keep copies of student diplomas, and after diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr. Tinubu in 1979, hence has no documents responsive to this request.”
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Other discrepancies in released CSU documents
ThisDay adds CSU produced diploma certificates of other graduates not requested by Atiku. The documents, as Atiku suspected, exposed variations in signatories and logo as well as revealed Tinubu “graduated” from Government College, Lagos in 1970 before attending CSU.
“The documents responsive to this request which CSU, after diligent search, has been able to locate are produced herewith and Bates labeled CSU 008n through CSU 0010. The students’ names on these diplomas have been redacted for privacy reasons,” the university wrote.
“CSU is also producing, Bates labeled as CSU 0011 and 0012, diplomas produced for other CSU students (with their names redacted for privacy) which match the format of the Tinubu replacement dated June 27, 1997.”
The records released contain 32 documents.
As ordered by the court, CSU will do a deposition today which is expected to bring clarity on all the issues.
Other Tinubu records CSU released include:
- A Southwest College transcript Tinubu was said to have used in gaining admission into CSU in September 1977, which shows the owner is a “female”.
- The document confirmed Atiku’s allegation that the Tinubu admitted into CSU in 1977 was a female with social security number 231-06-0595.
- The document revealed Tinubu claimed to have graduated from Government College, Lagos, in 1970. But the college was not founded until 1974.
- University of Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) or Higher School Certificate (HSC) Tinubu attached as part of his credentials, shows physics, chemistry and biology as the three subjects he wrote in the November/December examination in 1970.
- Tinubu’s record, following his consent, was released to one Wole Afolabi on June 28, 2023 – signed by Jamar Orr, who also last year asserted that Tinubu graduated from CSU in 1979.
Tinubu submitted a CSU degree certificate to INEC on 17 June 2022 that was purportedly issued in 1979, with Elnora Daniel as one of the signatories.
But Daniel only arrived at CSU in 1998 from Hampton University, 19 years after Tinubu was said to have graduated.
She left CSU in 2008 following a financial mismanagement scandal, 14 years before June 2022 when CSU issued another fresh certificate in Tinubu’s name under attorney subpoena obtained by Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah.
One of the admission forms Tinubu filled at CSU identifying himself as male.