Release only my certificate to Atiku; Tinubu begs judge

 It has been reported that President Bola Tinubu, somewhat reluctantly, has permitted a federal judge in

the United States to release his university certificate to his political opponent, Atiku Abubakar.

However, the Nigerian leader appealed to Judge Nancy Maldonado to block the disclosure of further details, including: gender and registration details of the person holding the certificate.Mr. Tinubu's prayers on Monday morning were part of ongoing litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The case was brought by Abubakar, who was leading a court case to

 determine whether Tinubu was unfit to be president of Nigeria despite being elected in February 2023.He won the election with a majority of 36% of the vote after Abubakar and Peter Obi, who was his candidate in the 2019 election, fell out and then split their potential votes into at least two, 

paving the way for Tinubu. Victory by the narrowest margin in the history of Nigeria's presidential election.Mr Tinubu consented to the disclosure of his certificate after narrowly escaping full disclosure on September 21st, citing the fact that he had suffered greatly for his life, seeking a stay of the court

 order from September 19th to reach.“It is harmful to allow the disclosure of materials and documents outside the rank,” Mr. Tinubu’s lawyers said at a court hearing, urging District Judge Ms. Maldonado to review Judge Jeffrey Gilbert’s order.The identity of a person admitted to Chicago State University in the 1970s became a hot topic after transcripts were released showing that the school admitted Bola

 Tinubu from Southwest College of Chicago in 1977. In contrast, Mr Tinubu's lawyers, led by Victor Henderson and Christopher Carmichael, insisted that the documents sought by Mr Abubakar would not be admitted by the Supreme Court, but nevertheless appeared to foresee the possibility of an unfavorable ruling and therefore required them to be presented to the judge alternatively,

 recommending that only an order be issued requiring the school to strictly certify the certificate presented by the President for candidacy.Mr Gilbert's ruling last week required CSU trustees to certify under oath that the certificate issued by Mr Tinubu in Nigeria was genuine. 

In addition, officers were required to produce a certificate from the 1979 CSU graduate along with a redacted identification document and produce correspondence relating to the letter the school sent to Mr Tinubu in 2022.Mr Tinubu feared that admitting statements from CSU officials could cause serious and irreparable harm to his life, 

claiming that Mr Abubakar only went on the fishing trip to fuel online conspiracy theories.“The judge clearly erred in granting the discovery request and concluded that Chicago State University must respond to the documents and subpoenas,” the lawyers said. “Although a limited set of information may be considered ‘intended for use in foreign proceedings’, it is limited to the diploma submitted to the CENI,” they added. “Fishing trips to search for additional documents and the creation of additional documents are excluded.”

In today's filing, a man who identified himself as Olajide Adeniji testified under oath that he went to school with Mr Tinubu between 1977 and 1979.However, Mr Abubakar's lawyers have long argued that the certificate is accompanied by relevant documents that must be provided to identify its owner. In his order, Mr Gilbert asked the CSU to provide an example of a CSU diploma issued in 1979 but with the details of the owner redacted, a certificate issued in 1979 to Mr Tinubu, a certificate issued in 1979

 which reads “same font, seal “. , Signatures and Contents” like Mr. Tinubu, Statements by Officials on Authentication of Published Documents,among others.In today's filing, a man who identified himself as Olajide Adeniji testified under oath that he went to school with Mr Tinubu between 1977 and

 1979.However, Mr Abubakar's lawyers have long argued that the certificate is accompanied by relevant documents that must be provided to identify its owner. In his order, Mr Gilbert asked the CSU to provide an example of a CSU diploma issued in 1979 but with the details of the owner redacted, a certificate issued in 1979 to Mr Tinubu, a certificate issued in 1979 which reads “same font, seal “. , Signatures and Contents” like Mr. Tinubu, Statements by Officials on Authentication of Published Documents,among others.