Tinubu asks US court to stop release of CSU transcript, adopts filibuster tactics
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bola Tinubu, who is pressing legal tactics to filibuster exposure of his personal details, has pleaded with the United States District Court in Illinois to order Chicago State University (CSU) to protect his privileged information – such as admission records, transcripts, and gender – and release only his certificate to Atiku Abubakar.
“The most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established” by CSU, Tinubu’s lawyer Christopher Carmichael insisted before District Judge Nancy Maldonado on Monday.
However, the core bone of contention in Atiku’s allegation is that the President used the transcript of a “female” called “Bola A. Tinubu” from Southwest College Chicago to gain admission into CSU in 1977.
And Tinubu’s Social Media Aide Dada Olusegun posted on X (Twitter) last week a transcript from Southwest College Chicago which he claimed belongs to the President, but the gender column shows the owner is “F” – that is, “female”.
Atiku had earlier secured an order from US District Court Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert for CSU to make Tinubu’s academic records available to Atiku’s legal team, a ruling Tinubu is now fighting in the senior District Court.
His legal team has promised to reply to Tinubu’s latest court application within 48 hours of receiving a written copy.
Back in Nigeria Atiku swore to resist Tinubu’s legal tactics to block or run down the clock over the release of his CSU records, saying it is obvious the man is hiding something from fellow citizens.
Atiku clarified through his Media Aide Phrank Shaibu that his legal team has up to 48 hours to respond to the motion.
“We are aware Tinubu’s counsel filed a motion on Monday praying the US court to order Chicago State University to release only the president’s certificate.
“We are wondering why a man will demand they conceal his gender and other little details in his academic transcript. But we (Atiku’s legal team) will respond to them in the next 48 hours. The judgment will be entered by Wednesday or Thursday.”
Documents being sought by Atiku through his counsel Angela Liu include, among others, records of Tinubu’s admission and acceptance at CSU, dates of class attendance, degrees, awards, and honours attained.
“The most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established by Chicago State University: Intervenor was awarded the degree as he stated. This point is irrelevant to the applicant because he [Atiku] is not seeking anything more than opposition research on a political opponent,” the motioned filed by Tinubu’s lawyer argued in court.
“The magistrate judge clearly erred in granting the application for discovery and concluding that Chicago State University must respond to the document and deposition subpoenas.
“That conclusion should be set aside and the application should be denied because the information sought cannot be used and therefore is not ‘for use’ in the foreign proceedings.
“Even if a narrow subset of information can be considered ‘for use’ in the foreign proceeding, that is limited to the diploma submitted to INEC. Fishing expeditions into other documents and more document productions must be precluded.”
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Related articles:
Tinubu says CSU records release will cause him ‘severe and irreparable harm’, appeals court ruling
Admission transcript of ‘Bola A. Tinubu’ belongs to a ‘female’, CSU confirms
Tinubu has 2 CSU certificates and “either ‘A’ or ‘B’ is fake (if not both)”, lawyer tells US court
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Tinubu’s playing for media optics through diversionary legal tactics
Rather than simply produce his CSU biodata, Tinubu played another diversionary card at the weekend when he produced a self-acclaimed classmate, Olajide Adeniji, who testified in the US district court that he knows Tinubu and contested against him as President of the Accounting Society Club at the Department of Business Admin/Accounting at CSU, per reporting by The PUNCH.
Adeniji swore on oath on September 23 at the Northern District of Illinois Court in Chicago that he is familiar with the same Tinubu who is the current President of Nigeria.
One Durojaiye Ogunsanya had announced on Television Continental (TVC) in Lagos on September 12 that was a classmate of Tinubu at CSU.
There has been controversy about the academic credentials of Tinubu for more than two decades – dating back at least to his tenure as Lagos Governor from 1999 – particularly over his allegedly forged certificate and also his failure to name any former school mate in Nigeria or elsewhere.
Ogunsanya was the first person to publicly disclose he attended any school with Tinubu, and it was curious he did so more than 20 years after the scandal broke, and announced on a television channel owned by Tinubu, which is his mouthpiece.
TVC is part of Tinubu’s personal empire, which also includes The Nation newspaper.
Even with all of that, neither Ogunsanya in Lagos nor Adeniji in Chicago would know – and neither attested – that Tinubu gained admission into CSU with his own genuine transcript, not a stolen one as alleged.
Outcome will give Nigerians ‘more heart attacks’
Pedro Obaseki, former Director of Research and Strategy of the defunct Atiku/Okowa 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, alleged the reason why Tinubu said the release of his CSU records would cause him “severe and irreparable harm” is because the owner of the certificate is allegedly a woman.
Obaseki said CSU would only confirm what Atiku’s camp already knows by making public the record of Tinubu who graduated from the institution in 1979.
“Nigerians will be more demoralised that the owner of the certificate that President Tinubu is parading is a woman. We already know it as a fact, but we are seeking the release of the documents officially by CSU,” he explained on a Zoom conference hosted by psychologist, Gold Emmanuel, who is based in London.
“Wetin the man dey hide [what is the man hiding], we already have it. The outcome will give many Nigerians more heart attacks.”