Tinubu vs Atiku: Falana Speaks on President’s Bid to Block Release of His University Records

President Bola Tinubu’s attempt to stop the Chicago State University (CSU) from releasing his academic records to his main challenger in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has drawn the reaction of a prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana.

Falana, who spoke on Arise TV, said that the court would have to balance the private interest of Tinubu with the public interest of Atiku in the suit.

Newsflash Nigeria had reported that Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had filed a suit before a Magistrate court in Illinois in the United States, seeking to compel CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to him.

Atiku claimed that Tinubu had lied about his educational qualifications and that he wanted to prove it with evidence from the university.

The court had granted Atiku’s prayer and ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s records within 30 days.

However, Tinubu, through his lawyer, appealed against the order and asked for an emergency stay of execution. Tinubu argued that he would suffer “severe and irreparable damage” if his records were released to Atiku without his consent. He said that his privacy rights would be violated and that he would be exposed to ridicule and harassment.

Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that Tinubu had the right to plead privacy in the US and that the court would have to consider his request on Monday.

He said, “So if the President say, sorry, I don’t want my result, my details released, the court would have to consider the implication of that on Monday viz the request by Atiku Abubakar. In other words, the private interest of the President would have to be considered with that of Atiku Abubakar.”

Falana added that the outcome of the suit would have a significant impact on the 2023 presidential election and that Nigerians deserved to know the truth about their leaders’ credentials. He urged both parties to respect the rule of law and abide by the court’s decision.

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