In a recent development, a United States District Court located in the Northern District of Illinois has approved the request made by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, for the disclosure of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday by US Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, the court has instructed Chicago State University to furnish Atiku Abubakar with “all pertinent and unprivileged documents” within a period of two days.
The court’s ruling recognized the arguments presented by Tinubu’s legal team concerning the preservation of their client’s privacy privilege, specifying that only “unprivileged documents” should be provided.
Judge Gilbert stated, “This matter pertains to Atiku Abubakar’s Application Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 for an Order Directing Discovery from Chicago State University for Use in a Foreign Proceeding (‘Application’) [ECF No. 1]. For the reasons explained below, the Application has been granted.”
Atiku initiated legal proceedings with the aim of securing a court order that would compel the university to disclose Tinubu’s educational records.
Just a fortnight following the confirmation of Tinubu’s triumph by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Atiku and his counterpart from the Labour Party, Peter Obi, have submitted appeals to the Supreme Court. They have presented 86 grounds for appeal, seeking to overturn the tribunal’s judgment.
In separate appeals submitted on Tuesday, both candidates have requested the highest court to overturn the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and invalidate Tinubu’s electoral victory, citing the verdict as flawed.
Atiku’s appeal was based on 35 key arguments, challenging the tribunal’s decisions regarding electronic result transmission, Federal Capital Territory votes, and various other critical aspects of the case.
In contrast, Obi raised objections against the September 6 judgment on 51 distinct grounds.
