Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the U.S District Court, Northern District of Illinois, has ordered the Chicago State University to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu, according to a request made by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
Judge Gilbert, a US magistrate judge, gave the ruling on Tuesday, ordering Chicago state university to produce “all relevant and non-privileged documents” to Abubakar Atiku, the plaintiff, within two days.
The ruling acknowledged Tinubu’s lawyers’ argument against lifting their client’s privacy privilege and clarified that only “non-privileged documents” should be produced.
“This matter is before the Court on 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 discussed below, the Application is granted,” Gilbert said.
Atiku had initiated the legal action seeking an order to compel the university to release Tinubu’s academic records.
Atiku on Tuesday filed a 35 grounds charge in which he faulted the tribunal’s ruling on electronic transmission of results, Federal Capital Territory votes, and other key planks.
Peter Obi, on the other hand, faulted the September 6 judgment on 51 grounds.
The two candidates in separate appeals asked the apex court to set aside the PEPT ruling and nullify Tinubu’s election, describing the verdict as erroneous.
