Chicagogate: Atiku’s Interest Outweighs Tinubu’s Privacy interests, Says US Court

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lost his quest to stop the Chicago State University, CSU, from releasing his academic records to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the March 25 Presidential election.

Tinubu had tried to block the release of his academic records from being released to the PDP candidate, describing Atiku’s effort ‘as a fishing’ expedition’ not useful in the current legal tussle to overturn his victory of the election.

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, had recently ruled that Tinubu won the election.

Atiku has challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court.

Two weeks ago, a United States of America, USA, US magistrate court had directed the CSU to release the records to Atiku within 48 hours but Tinubu’s lawyers opposed the order after they filed an objection in another court.

But in a subsisting ruling by a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, the CSU has been ordered to release the records to Atiku on Monday.

The documents Atiku is asking for include Tinubu’s record of admission and acceptance at the Chicago State University, dates of attendance as well as the degrees, awards, and honours obtained by Tinubu from the CSU.

According to a fresh judgment obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday, Maldonado noted that CSU did not object to Judge Jeffery Gilbert’s decision that the academic record be made public.

The court held that Atiku’s interest outweighs any intrusion on Tinubu’s privacy interests in his educational records.

The judge overruled Tinubu’s objections to the ruling by the magistrate ordering CSU to make his academic records available to Atiku.

The memorandum opinion and order read in part:  “For the foregoing reasons, the court overrules President Tinubu’s objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling, and therefore, adopts the ruling in full.

“Mr Atiku’s Application is, therefore, granted. In light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, represented to the court as October 5, 2023, and based on CSU’s representations that it is ready to comply with the discovery requests and produce a witness, the court sets an expedited schedule for completion of discovery.

“Respondent CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to Requests for Production Nos. 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. Given the October 5, 2023, filing deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the court will not extend or modify these deadlines.

However, the judge stressed that his verdict “is expressing no view on the merits of Mr. Abubakar’s underlying claims regarding President Tinubu or his graduation from CSU, or on the validity of the Nigerian election. Nor is the court taking any position on what any of the documents or testimony from CSU may or may not ultimately show.”

“The court simply finds, on the narrow question before it, that Mr Atiku is entitled to the production of documents and testimony that he seeks from CSU,” he said.

Not a few Nigerians insist that the objection of President Tinubu to the release of his results is totally unnecessary considering that he’s no longer a private citizen as a result of his position as President and Commander-in-Chief.

For instance, Osita Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation said in a piece last week that the objection of Tinubu to the release of his academic records by CSU is a national disgrace.

He said: “I speak as a Nigerian. That it took the courageous activism of HE. Abubakar Atiku to force the discovery of information concerning the President of Nigeria is a disgrace to our national institutions.”