A US court has adjourned ruling on a subpoena application for Bola Tinubu’s records from Chicago State University (CSU) after the institution denied knowledge of a certificate the Nigerian president submitted to the country’s electoral commission INEC to run for office.
The CSU lawyer Michael Hayes told the court that the school was not in a position to authenticate Tinubu’s certificate as either fake or genuine. He said that the school’s administrators would not be able to certify the certificate because they “just don’t know” where Tinubu obtained it or how.
Hayes also admitted that there were several contradictions in Tinubu’s certificate, including the date it was issued and the name of the school president at the time.
“Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Mr Hayes said at the hearing in Chicago in the lawsuit brought by Atiku Abubakar, Mr Tinubu’s main challenger and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the February 25 presidential election.
Atiku Abubakar filed the suit to compel CSU to produce records relating to Tinubu and make its top officials available for deposition to certify the produced records.
Abubakar’s lawyers said the documents and depositions are being sought for use in the Nigerian Supreme Court, where the final battle over Tinubu’s election is now headed.
Alexandre de Gramont, who appeared in court for Mr Abubakar, said, “Your Honour, we don’t know whether the Nigerian Supreme Court would be receptive to the new evidence or not, but we just want to be able to present the new evidence to them from CSU,” Mr de Gramont said.
“We already have them (the documents), what we are seeking is CSU’s authentication or their explanation for some of the discrepancies.”
Tinubu’s lawyers, represented via telephone conference by Christopher Carmichael, said Abubakar was on a “fishing expedition.” They noted that the previous statements of CSU to the effect that Tinubu graduated from the school were enough.
Carmichael said there was no need to produce further evidence or place the school’s officials under oath to speak to the authenticity of Tinubu’s certificate. He said the proceeding would only fuel online trolls because the Supreme Court won’t accept new evidence even if produced.
Bola Tinubu submitted a certificate to INEC on June 17, 2022, claiming it was issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. However, it was discovered that Ms. Daniel did not enroll at CSU until 1998, 19 years after Mr. Tinubu was supposed to have graduated. Furthermore, she left the school in 2008 due to a financial mismanagement scandal, which occurred 14 years before June 2022 when CSU issued another certificate in Mr. Tinubu’s name. This issuance was prompted by a subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer who had raised questions about Mr. Tinubu’s educational background.
These contradictions and other discrepancies led Mr. Abubakar to file a lawsuit compelling CSU to provide records related to Mr. Tinubu’s educational history.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
LATEST POSTS
-
NYSC: Deployment to states’ll be guided by risk assessment — TINUBU

MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA— PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has said as part of the reform of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, corps members would now be deployed to security-challenged states, guided by risk assessment. He also reiterated that the scheme would be led by a civilian director-general and not military personnel as it…
-
Presidency exposes alleged fake Presidential Council

MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas …Says police charged Self-styled DG with forgery The Presidency on Wednesday dismissed renewed claims by Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew that he was appointed to head a presidential agency, insisting he is an impostor who allegedly forged official documents to present himself as Director-General of a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also described as the…
-
Just in: Atiku appoints Kenneth Okonkwo as spokesperson

MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has appointed actor-turned-politician and ADC chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo as his spokesperson. Okonkwo announced the appointment in a statement posted on his official X handle on Thursday, expressing appreciation to Atiku for the confidence reposed in him.…