Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has filed a fresh plea to Magistrate Judge Gilbert, explaining why it should sustain its earlier order to release academic documents of President Bola Tinubu.
In this request, Atiku presented the reasons for supporting the District Court of Illinois’ ruling and urging Chicago State University to disclose President Tinubu’s records by October 2, 2023.
According to Atiku, releasing the records by October 3, 2023, will enable him to utilize these documents in the Nigerian Supreme Court on October 5.
Atiku’s legal team, in a comprehensive 17-page response, presented arguments to persuade Judge Nancy Maldonado to dismiss and reject Tinubu’s objections. They requested that the court order CSU to provide Atiku with the requested documents.
Atiku is urging the court to completely dismiss Tinubu’s objections. Should the objections be overruled, he requests the court to uphold Magistrate Jeffery T. Gilbert’s order and direct CSU to produce the necessary documents by October 2, 2023. Additionally, the court should set the deposition no later than October 3, 2023, to allow for transcript finalization. Moreover, the court should require that the obtained discovery be sent to Nigeria by October 4, 2023, accounting for the time zone difference.
The evidence should be filed with the Supreme Court no later than October 5, 2023.
Recall that Atiku had previously obtained a court order compelling CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to his legal team. Nonetheless, Tinubu’s legal counsel approached US District Judge Nancy Maldonado, arguing for a reconsideration of Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert’s prior decision
Maldonado granted the request for a review and delayed the order until Monday.
Tinubu’s legal team contends that his academic records hold no relevance within the Nigerian court system, asserting that Atiku’s request is overly invasive.
The documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include the record of admission and acceptance at the university and dates of attendance, including degrees, awards, and honours attained by the former governor of Lagos State at the university, among others.