President Bola Tinubu has asked US District Judge Nancy Maldonado to protect his private information, specifically his academic records, from being released to the legal team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku’s camp has raised concerns that President Tinubu might be concealing something from the public. However, Tinubu’s lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, argues that Chicago State University has already verified that there are no suspicious aspects in Tinubu’s academic records.
Previously, Atiku obtained a court order, through US magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert, to access Tinubu’s academic records, including admission records, attendance dates, degrees, awards, and honors from the university.
As the deadline set by Gilbert approached, Tinubu’s legal team requested a review of Gilbert’s decision from Judge Maldonado, and their request was granted.
Tinubu’s legal team asserts that the information sought is primarily for political opposition research and, therefore, should not include additional documents.
This ongoing dispute follows testimony from Olajide Adeniji, who claimed to have been Tinubu’s classmate at Chicago State University and swore to knowing the current Nigerian President. Atiku’s camp remains committed to challenging Tinubu’s actions, suggesting that there may be undisclosed information about Tinubu’s academic history.
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, has stated that they will respond to Tinubu’s motion within 48 hours in the US court, with a judgment expected shortly afterward.
Additionally, Pedro Obaseki, Director of Research and Strategy for the Atiku/Okowa 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, has alleged that Tinubu’s reluctance to release his records might be due to the certificate’s owner being a woman.
He emphasized that CSU’s disclosure would merely confirm information already known to Atiku’s camp regarding Tinubu’s academic background.