Tinubu faces US court hearing today at 7.30pm Nigerian time
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has fixed for today at 1.30pm (7.30pm Nigerian time) hearing on certificate forgery alleged against Bola Tinubu by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with intent to get Tinubu sacked as President.
Atiku alleged Tinubu adopted the academic credentials of one “female” “Bola A. Tinubu” to obtain or to counterfeit her Chicago State University (CSU) degree certificate obtained in 1979, by which the President allegedly committed identity theft, age falsification, certificate forgery, and perjury.
Any of these four crimes, if proven, constitutionally disqualifies Tinubu from Aso Rock, Nigeria’s hottest seat of power.
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in its judgment in Abuja on September 6 declined to examine the merit of the allegation under a technicality that Atiku’s witness who presented the documents was incompetent because he had no locus standi to do so.
Atiku is seeking a subpoena on CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to him (Atiku) directly in order to shed light on discrepancies in the certificate Tinubu submitted on oath to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Atiku believes the documents would expose inconsistencies in Tinubu’s biodata and academic credentials because they show the owner of the certificate is a female, was born in 1954, and attended Government College Lagos before CSU – details that contradict Tinubu’s particulars which he does not want the public to know.
CSU has agreed in court to release Tinubu’s credentials once the court issues the subpoena, in a statement signed by CSU counsel dated August 23.
But CSU pleaded with the court to be specific with the demands it seeks.
Judge Jeffrey Gilbert directed Tinubu to provide an explanation by August 23 regarding the potential release of his academic records at CSU to Atiku.
Tinubu’s attorney submitted a statement on August 23 as part of his legal argument, asking CSU not to release his credentials to Atiku.
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Related articles:
Atiku doubles down questioning integrity of PEPC judgment printed on ‘Tinubu letterhead’
Tinubu has 2 CSU certificates and “either ‘A’ or ‘B’ is fake (if not both)”, lawyer tells US court
How PEPC ab initio ‘locked down’ judgment in favour of Tinubu
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Hearing in-person
A docket entry made by the court clerk on September 8 said the matter is set for hearing in-person on September 12 at 1:30pm in courtroom 1386, per reporting by The Sun.
“If respondent Chicago State University objects to the scope of petitioner Abubakar’s subpoenas for documents and for a deposition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6), as originally issued [1-1][1-2] or as modified [22-1] [22-3], it should file any objections by 5:00 p.m. on 9/11/23 rather than reserve those objections until a later date,” the docket explained.
“This matter is set for hearing in-person on 9/12/23 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 1386. If out of town counsel want to appear by telephone, they should contact the Court’s courtroom deputy. The Court’s preference, however, is for counsel who will be speaking at the hearing to appear in person. Mailed notice.
“This notice is being sent pursuant to Rule 77(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Rule 49(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. It was generated by CM/ECF, the automated docketing system used to maintain the civil and criminal dockets of this District.
“If a minute order or other document is enclosed, please refer to it for additional information.”
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