Tinubu yet to appeal U.S court order on CSU to release records to Atiku, with hours to deadline

Lawyers of President Bola Tinubu are yet to appeal the order by a Federal Judge in the United States, which had, Saturday, directed the Chicago State University (CSU) to release academic records of its alumnus to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Alhaji Atiku is seeking the order of the court to compel the CSU to release academic records of President Tinubu who had claimed to be a student of the institution and had graduated in 1979 with a degree in Accounting and Business Management.

According to Atiku, Tinubu may have submitted a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in order to contest the 2023 presidential election, as the former Vice President is also alleging perjury against the incumbent president and declared winner of the election.

 Atiku had earlier obtained an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, Eastern Division, presided over by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert to compel the CSU to release Tinubu’s records to him.

However, an appeal by Tinubu’s lawyers prayed the United States District Court in Northern Illinois, presided over by Judge Nancy Maldonado last Thursday to stay the order by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert directing the Chicago varsity to make Tinubu’s academic document available to the legal team of former Vice President Atiku.

In a rather twist, Judge Maldonado, last Saturday, vacated her own order by ordering the CSU to release the said academic records within two days of the ruling, meaning the CSU has till 12pm of Monday afternoon to make the documents public to Atiku and his legal team.

In a ruling delivered on Saturday, the judge, Nancy Maldonado, after dismissing Tinubu’s objection, gave the university until 12 noon on Monday to release the documents to Atiku.

Ms Maldonando dismissed Tinubu’s objection to the September 20 decision of a magistrate judge of the court, Jeffery Gilbert.

The judge on Saturday fully affirmed Judge Gilbert’s ruling ordering the CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records as requested by Atiku, as she further insisted Atiku had the right to have access to the records.

“For the reasons stated in the Court’s accompanying Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Court overrules President Tinubu’s objections (44] and adopts Judge Gilbert’s recommended decision [40] in full.

“The Court therefore grants Mr. Abubakar’s application under 28 U.S.C. § 1782. [1],” Ms Maldonado ruled.

She said the CSU must complete all necessary filings with regard to the release by 5 pm on Tuesday.

“Respondent CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to Requests for Production Nos. 1 through 4 (as narrowed by Judge Gilbert and adopted by the District Court in its opinion) in Mr. Abubakar’s subpoena, by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT, on Monday, October 2, 2023.

“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,” the court ordered.

The judge warned that any request for stay of the judgement from Tinubu to her court would be denied, as she, however, said he is free to appeal her ruling at the Seventh Circuit Court.

The Judge had on Friday said Nigerians have shown interest in the case by bombarding her with multiple emails seeking to know the status of the case. She added that because of the public interest in the case, she would give a hasty ruling.

Atiku had told the US district court that he had up to October 5 to file the documents from the CSU against Tinubu at the Supreme Court.

Already, Atiku has an appeal pending at the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) which had dismissed his petition challenging the declaration of Tinubu by INEC as winner of the February 25 election.

The PEPT had also dismissed grounds for the petition challenging Tinubu’s eligibility and perjury allegations by the PDP candidate in its final judgement.

Atiku had also beaten the 14-day statutory deadline to secure critical academic credentials of Tinubu from the Chicago University to back his appeal at the Supreme Court.

Atiku faced a deadline of 14 days to acquire relevant documents challenging President Tinubu’s election in his suit before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, Eastern Division, presided over by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert.

Atiku had sought the academic credentials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the February presidential election from the Chicago State University, which the latter had declined citing confidentiality reasons.

The former Vice President had needed the documents to back his allegation of perjury and ineligibility against the Tinubu’s declaration as winner of the February 25 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1, 2023.

Already, Atiku had filed his appeal at the Supreme Court predicated on 35 grounds, as he insisted that the PEPT committed a grave error and miscarriage of justice in its findings and conclusion in its petition challenging INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as President.

The notice of appeal also prayed the Supreme Court to overturn the PEPT’s findings and conclusions, claiming that they do not accurately reflect the facts of his case.

According to Atiku, the PEPT erred in law when it refused to nullify the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, when evidence before it showed that INEC conducted the election on the basis of grave and gross misrepresentation, in violation of the principles of the Electoral Act 2022, based on the doctrine of legitimate expectation.

It would be recalled that delivering final judgement, late last Tuesday night (Nigerian time), Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, Eastern Division, ordered the CSU to release President Tinubu’s records to Atiku within two days of the ruling and also certify the documents’ authenticity under oath.

Judge Gilbert also ordered a deposition of designated CSU officials within two days after the records have been released, noting further that the process can be conducted during the weekend if necessary.

“For all of the reasons discussed above, Atiku Abubakar’s application pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 for an order directing discovery from Chicago State University for use in a foreign proceeding [ECF No. 1] is granted,” Judge Gilbert ruled.

“Respondent CSU shall produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to requests for production Nos. 1 through 4 (as narrowed by the court) in applicant subpoena within two days of the entry of this memorandum opinion and order.

“The deposition of respondent’s corporate designee shall proceed within two days of the production of documents. The parties can modify the dates set by the court by mutual agreement. Given the tight time frame under which the parties are operating, the deposition can, if necessary, occur on a non-weekday,” the judge said.

However, appealing Judge Gilbert’s order, last Monday before Nancy Maldonado’s court, Tinubu’s lawyers told the judge to direct CSU to give only his university certificate to Atiku, and further block all other details, especially the gender, and admission records, among others.

Tinubu, through his lawyers, had also asked Ms Maldonado, to delay the order of Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, a magistrate, that order the university to release his academic records to Atiku.

Tinubu asked the judge to save him from suffering severe and irreparable damage by placing an emergency hold on a recent order for his university records to be released.

According to the President, the damage he would suffer would be impossible to mitigate if the order directing the release of his academic records to Atiku is not delayed for possible vacation.

“There is harm in allowing discovery on issues and documents outside the diploma,” Tinubu’s lawyers said in their full briefing to the court seeking a review of Judge Jeffrey Gilbert’s order by Ms Maldonado, a district judge.

Reacting to Tinubu’s appeal, Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, said the President should not hide anything, adding that his principal’s Atiku’s legal team would wait for the court process while whatever was hidden would unfold.

 “What is in that file if it is released that would bring harm that is irreparable to him (Tinubu)? It has become important for Bola Tinubu to let Nigerians know what he is hiding in his academic record at Chicago University.

“We cannot mortgage the destiny of over 200 million people for the interest of one individual. He is bringing embarrassment to Nigeria; it is shameful, and it is a tragedy to have something as simple as releasing your records to be subject to public scrutiny.

“Nigerians should begin to take an interest in this matter. Nigerians should be asking questions about what is going on. Why should the President of Nigeria not be a product of due process, transparency, and accountability? It has never reached this low, and it is unfortunate. We will get him.

“We will await the court process. They can only stall, but finally, whatever it is that is being hidden will be released,” Mr Ibe said.

With this ruling, Atiku is expected to now tender all evidence backing his allegation of perjury and ineligibility against Tinubu as he seeks to disqualify the APC candidate from election.

Atiku had on August 2 filed an application for the court to order CSU to produce documents relating to Tinubu, as well as leave to get the school’s administrators to authenticate any documents submitted under oath.

“Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission,” Atiku’s originating summons read in part.

According to Atiku’s lawyer, Angela Liu, Tinubu’s certificate from the CSU is allegedly filled with discrepancies beginning with the signatories which carries those of the university’s officials who were not staff of the institution as at the time of the issuance of the document.

This in addition to the female designation of Tinubu, instead of male as it appeared on the credentials, while the documents also carried different dates.

The misleading irregularities prompted Abubakar to file the suit to compel CSU to produce records relating to Tinubu and make its top officials available for deposition to certify the produced records, according to the Nigerian opposition leader’s lawyers.

During a hearing on the matter on September 12, the CSU’s lawyer Michael Hayes, said the school could not authenticate Tinubu’s certificate if asked under oath, although he said Tinubu attended the school and graduated in 1979.

Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Christopher Carmichael, argued that the court should not grant Abubakar’s application because it was a frivolous expedition aimed at soiling the Nigerian president’s image.

Tinubu’s lawyers also argued that Nigerian Supreme Court would not accept fresh evidence that was not produced during the tribunal proceeding.

Judge Gilbert then ruled that courts across the U.S. have traditionally taken a broad and liberal view in granting applications under Section 1782, a statute that allows the release of documents and evidence domiciled in the U.S. to be obtained and used in a foreign proceeding, as he adjourned hearing till a later date to be communicated to the parties, after requesting them to submit to him further evidence supporting their case.

Atiku’s U.S lawyer, Ms Angela Liu in a report, had, confirmed that the Chicago State University provided two similar certificates indicating that Tinubu attended its institution.

Liu said while the first certificate was signed by three people, the other one was signed by two people.

Liu also said that while one document asserts that Tinubu was issued the certificate on June 22, 1979, another suggests that the president received the degree on June 27, 1979.

“The document marked ‘A’ is the certificate submitted by Tinubu to INEC. This certificate is in every material respect, exactly the same as the document marked ‘B’ except for the following.

“Document ‘A’ is signed by at least 3 people whereas ‘B’ is signed by only 2 people.

“The document marked ‘E’ states that Tinubu was issued a certificate on 22nd June 1979 but then proceeded to forward a copy of a certificate (‘B’) dated 27th June 1979. Please note that ‘A’ is actually dated 22nd June 1979, but this document did not emanate from CSU. Only ‘B’ did.

“It is clear that either ‘A’ or ‘B’ is fake (if not both). You cannot have two certificates issued by the same university, to the same person, for the same course of study, but issued on different dates and signed by two different sets of people.

“The documents ‘A’ and ‘B’ both state that Tinubu graduated with a BSc in ‘Business AND Administration’, whereas document ‘E’ (which came from CSU) states that he graduated with a BSc in ‘Business Administration’, Liu said.

Continuing, the lawyer said CSU’s website reads: “The College of Business offers a contemporary business program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration or Masters in Business Administration (MBA)”, adding that ‘nowhere is there any reference to ‘business and administration’ throughout the website.”

“It is not possible for Elnora D. Daniel to be among those who signed both certificates because she was only the president of the university between 1998 and 2008.

“She was neither president of the university in 1979 – when the certificate was purportedly issued – nor was she president in 2022, when the replacement certificates were issued,” she said.

The lawyer also expressed dismay that both certificates bear different letter fonts and logos of the university.

According to filings by Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, counsels to Tinubu, an unidentified clerk of the university made the error about the date the school stated on his recently-issued certificate, thereby creating ‘the appearance of differences.’

It would be recalled that during the just-concluded PEPT hearings on September 6, which affirmed Tinubu as winner after dismissing all charges by petitioners (LP/Peter Obi, PDP/Atiku, and the APM), the justices had knocked down Tinubu’s perjury on technical grounds.

The PEPT justices further faulted Atiku’s petition on the ground that it introduced several facts and allegations in unlawful ways that caught the respondents unaware adding that ‘the tactic employed was unfair and made him clever by half.’

Among the offending new facts said to have been wrongfully introduced by Atiku were the allegations of a criminal conviction, certificate forgery, and dual citizenship of Guinea made against Tinubu outside the mode of filing a petition.

Justice Stephen Jonah Adah who read another ruling on objections against the petition expunged several documents tendered by Atiku on the ground that the exhibits were made during the pendency of the petition.

Also, the evidence of several key witnesses of Atiku were expunged from the Court record having been made in manners not known to law.

The Tribunal held that the wrongful mode adopted by the PDP’s presidential candidate in the construction of the petition made several paragraphs of the petition table for striking out for want of merit.

Reacting to the U.S court decision on Tinubu, Mr Osita Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation, described it as ‘a national shame,’ adding that a forged certificate finding leaves Tinubu ‘in a vulnerable position morally and legally.’

While blaming the Department of State Security (DSS) and other agencies for not doing the job they were created for, Chidoka noted that the reputation of Nigeria is still in tatters because of the failure of national institutions to perform due diligence no matter who is involved.

“If it turns out tomorrow that our President presented a forged certificate to INEC, Nigerians will bow down their heads globally in shame. On the other hand, if it turns out that his certificate is genuine, again our reputation as a people is still in tatters because of the failure of national institutions to perform due diligence no matter who is involved. On both counts it reinforces global perceptions and prejudice against Nigerians. We all bear the burden.

“A forged certificate finding leaves President Tinubu in a vulnerable position morally and legally. As he did not present primary and secondary certificates to INEC, a forged CSU certificate makes him unqualified to stand for the office of President as he does not possess the minimum qualification S.131(D) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Of course, the next issue is the case of perjury, the presentation of false documents under oath.

“How INEC, accepted a university degree without the qualifying certificates would continue to be a national mystery. A language in our electoral legislation to forestall such obvious infractions is required.

“The decision of the District Court and the whole proceedings is not a moment of triumphalism but a sober moment of introspection. It is a moment when as a nation we ask ourselves: “What are our national values? “Who or which institution should have ordered the full investigation of the questionable certificate?

“Considering that he did not present a primary or secondary certificate should our courts be concerned with the technicality of the tendering process of the CSU certificate or the disgrace and global moral damage a forged certificate would wrought on Nigeria?

“Why did our national security system not conduct a discrete investigation and advise the candidate and INEC about the status of his certificate?

“A few years ago The DSS, in an act of institutional independence and courage, wrote to the Senate to reject Police Commissioner Magu as EFCC Chairman not minding his nomination by a sitting President. This was based on their intelligence report of his nefarious conduct that pales into insignificance against a possible forgery case by a President. Why the silence now?

“For me, the issue is beyond legalism. If and that is a big if, the certificate is forged, President Tinubu should resign immediately. It is not a legal matter but a national honour and moral issue. If he does not, the National Assembly should do the needful to restore our dignity as a people. I also expect the Supreme Court to rise to the occasion and restore order to our electoral process.

“If the certificate is not forged, the President should conduct a wide-ranging reorganisation of our national security system for failure to save the country from this needless embarrassment and reputational damage.

“On either count, the National Assembly should start a constitutional amendment process to end all election judicial challenges before the assumption of office of all elected persons at all levels.

“A reform of the judiciary to introduce an automated case assignment system, the introduction of a transparent process for recruitment of judges, and the public display of evaluation of judges’ performance annually using the agreed framework to increase public oversight of judicial officers and improve the administration of justice. The growing unanimity in arriving at decisions in our courts is disturbing.

“The bold challenge of President Tinubu by HE Abubakar Atiku in the US is the most prominent sign of state failure. It is depressing but maybe it is an inflection point to alter the character of the Nigerian.”