President Bola Tinubu's attempt to prevent Atiku Abubakar from obtaining his academic records at Chicago State University (CSU) has faced a setback. This development comes as the Peoples Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections seeks information on his opponent, who was announced as the winner of the election.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has issued an order for CSU to provide Tinubu's academic records to Atiku by the latest date of Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Previously, President Tinubu objected to the ruling of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jefferey Gilbert, who, on September 20, 2023, directed Chicago State University to release Tinubu's academic records in response to Atiku's request.
Tinubu argued that Atiku's interest in his educational records amounted to an invasion of his privacy. However, the presiding judge, Nancy Maldonado, dismissed President Tinubu's objection.
Judge Maldonado explained that Atiku's interest in obtaining the requested records outweighed Tinubu's privacy concerns. She upheld Judge Gilbert's ruling from September 20, noting that CSU had not raised any objections to making the academic records public.
Judge Maldonado also ordered that Chicago State University must complete all necessary filings related to the release by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The court stated, "Atiku's application is therefore granted. In light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, represented to the Court as October 5, 2023, and based on CSU's representations that it is ready to comply with the discovery requests and produce a witness, the Court sets an expedited schedule for completion of discovery. Respondent CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents.
"The Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU's corporate designee must be completed by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Given the October 5, 2023, filing deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court will not extend or modify these deadlines."
