Judge Delays Chicago Varsity From Releasing Tinubu’s Academic Records

A United States District Judge, Nancy Maldonado, has agreed to stay an order directing Chicago State University to make available the academic documents of President Bola Tinubu, to the legal team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The hearing came up late Thursday night after the president’s lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking a delay in the implementation of the self-effectuating order directing the CSU to comply with Atiku’s subpoenas till Monday.

Jeffrey Gilbert, had on Tuesday ordered Tinubu’s alma mater to provide all relevant and non-privileged documents to the applicant, Atiku, within two days.

Documents sought by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include the record of admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards, and honours attained by the former governor of Lagos State at the university, among others.

But the president’s attorneys had argued that the earlier decision by Gilbert needed to be reviewed by a district judge.

Coordinator of Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, Babatunde Ogala, disclosed that what they sought was a review and not an appeal.

To further buttress his point, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria emphasised that the US magistrate does not have the power to give an order given to the university to release non-privileged information, adding that he can only make a recommendation.

In the emergency hearing, Maldonado disclosed that mindful of legal deadlines in Nigeria, she would rule on the matter as quickly as possible.

She said, “I will have a busy weekend. The issue is of process and rules. I’m a rule person. That’s why I’m a judge. This case is quite involved. I am aware of the stakes. It’s more important to me to get this right.”

Meanwhile, the president has departed New York after attending the 78th session of high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly where he addressed world leaders on the relevance of democracy, stressing that military coups are wrong.