The academic records of Bola Tinubu, the current President of Nigeria, are still under dispute as a Chicago court has postponed its decision to order the release of the documents.
Tinubu, who claims to have graduated from Chicago State University (CSU), is facing a legal challenge from his former rival, Atiku Abubakar, who alleges that Tinubu’s degree is not valid.
Abubakar, who ran against Tinubu in the last presidential election, filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeking to obtain Tinubu’s transcripts, diplomas, and other records from CSU.
He argued that Tinubu was not eligible to run for president because he did not meet the constitutional requirement of having a minimum of a secondary school education.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert granted Abubakar’s motion and ordered CSU to produce the documents by the end of Thursday.
However, Tinubu’s lawyers filed an emergency appeal, asking for a stay of the order until a district judge could review it. They claimed that Gilbert’s ruling was erroneous and violated Tinubu’s privacy rights.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado held an emergency hearing and agreed to delay the order until next Thursday.
She instructed both parties to submit additional arguments by then and said she would rule as soon as possible after that. She emphasized the importance of following the rules and getting the issue right.
“I will have a busy weekend. The issue is of process and rules. I’m a rule person; that’s why I’m a judge. This case is quite involved. I am aware of the stakes. It’s more important to me to get this right,” she said.
The case has attracted a lot of attention in Nigeria and abroad, as it could have serious implications for Tinubu’s political future and legitimacy. Tinubu has maintained that he graduated from CSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and that he has the certificate to prove it.
However, Abubakar and his supporters have cast doubt on Tinubu’s claim and accused him of forging his credentials.
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