Judge Nancy Maldonado of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago has warned President Bola Tinubu to desist from filing further applications to the timely release of his academic records from Chicago State University.
Ms Maldonado, a district judge, said in her September 30 ruling ordering release of Mr Tinubu’s records that the Nigerian president should not bother returning to her court to attempt obtaining another temporary postponement of the disclosure.
“The court cautions President Tinubu that any request for a stay before this court will be denied, as the court finds any stay impracticable in light of the fast-approaching Supreme Court of Nigeria deadlines,” Ms Maldonado said.
“President Tinubu’s argument and rhetoric as to Mr Abubakar’s likelihood of success at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, or his vigorous disputes with the merits of Mr Abubakar’s underlying claims about the election, do not equate to evidence of the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s receptiveness to assistance in discovery,” the judge said.
‘The discovery sought here relates not only to a prominent public figure, President Tinubu, but is sought as part of an underlying dispute over the Nigerian presidential election, a matter of extreme importance to the Nigerian people.
“The discovery is thus undoubtably of significant importance, as are the issues at stake. And CSU has sole access to the discovery—there is no other way for Mr. Abubakar to access the sought-after information about President Tinubu’s diploma and education,” the court further said.
The statement was part of her late Saturday night order directing CSU to turn over Mr Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku Abubakar, a former Nigerian vice-president who also contested the February 2023 presidential election. The judgement affirmed the September 19 order of Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, a federal magistrate in the district.
The judge also said the CSU must release the records by 12:00 p.m. on Monday and also designate a senior official for deposition by Mr Abubakar latest by 5:00 p.m. on the same day.
Mr Abubakar had sought the records 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.
Still, Ms Maldonado said Mr Tinubu should feel free to appeal the case to the Seventh Circuit and also ask for a stay there, a task that would prove nearly insurmountable considering the short period.
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“President Tinubu is, of course, free to request a stay directly from the Seventh Circuit should he file any appeal,” she said.
Given the order came on Saturday night and the CSU has until Monday afternoon to comply, Mr Tinubu and his counsel have only four business hours to file any appeal, request a stay of execution and convince the appellate judges to grant his prayers.
A spokesman for Mr Tinubu did not immediately return a request seeking comments about whether or not the president would appeal.
Once obtained, Mr Abubakar plans to transfer the evidence to the Nigerian Supreme Court, where a final decision on the 2023 presidential election should come in December.
