Presidential Election Tribunal: CSU Authenticates Tinubu’s Certificate, Say Tinubu was Their Student

By Correspondent

The request by Mr. Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the last Presidential Election in Nigeria, to obtain a copy of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University has failed to produce result.

Rather, CSU confirmed that indeed, Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), now President of Nigeria, graduated from the university.

Atiku’s prayer No. 2 in the United States of America court was a request for the university to “…issue a correct copy of any diploma issued by CSU in 1979 to Mr. Tinubu.”

In response, the university wrote: “CSU does not in the ordinary course keep copies of student diplomas, and after diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr. Tinubu in 1979, hence has no documents responsive to the request.”

The University said it found “several certificates after diligent search matching.” CSU statement is in response to Judge Nancy Maldonado’s order that it supply the documents wanted by Atiku Abubakar, the defeated candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

This response and discovering of similar certificates will certainly pose a fresh legal challenge to Atiku and his legal team.

CSU told the ex Vice President of Nigeria and the defeated PDP candidate that, after diligent search of its archives, it has “…found at least three certificates matching the replacement certificate which President Bola Tinubu presented to INEC in 1992.”

Atiku in his request No. 3, wanted: “True and correct copies of any diplomas issued by CSU (other than to Mr. Tinubu) that contain the same font, seal, signatures, and wording (other than the name of the recipient and the specific degree awarded) as Contained in Exhibit C to the First Liu Declaration, which purports to be a CSU diploma issued to Mr. Tinubu on or about June 22, 1979”.

CSU responded thus: “The documents responsive to this request which CSU, after diligent search, has been able to locate are produced herewith and Bates labelled CSU 0008 through CSU 0010. The students’ names on these diplomas have been redacted for privacy reasons.

“CSU is also producing, Bates labelled as CSU 0011 and CSU 0012, diplomas prepared for other CSU students (with their names redacted for privacy) which match the format of the Tinubu replacement diploma dated June 27, 1997.” By this response, CSU has authenticated the certificate President Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

CSU turned down Atiku’s request made by that, the school should produce a copy of Tinubu’s certificate issued in 1979, the university maintained its position that it does not keep copies of students diplomas, talk less of the one issued in 1979.

The university stated that: “CSU does not in the ordinary course keep copies of student diplomas, and after diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr. Tinubu in 1979, hence has no documents responsive to this request”, deposed by Michael D. Hayes, counsel to the school.

The results of these findings may not help Atiku’s case to push the point that Tinubu did not attend the Chicago State University and that he forged the certificate. The doubt appears to have ended, apart from the labelling of Bola A. Tinubu as “female” in the high school certificate with which Tinubu gained admission into the university.

It is left to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to decide if it will go into ‘investigation’ of the correctness of sex annotation. Atiku’s lawyers did not ask the US court to clarify this misconception and some legal experts who spoke with Midwest Herald, are of the opinion that the Supreme Court will not help Atiku to investigate any gender matter.

“Atiku’s request: “True and correct copies of any CSU documents relating to Mr. Tinubu that were certified by Jamar C. Orr, Esq., including without limitation, the documents in Exhibit D to the Uwais Declaration, and all Communications to or from CSU concerning the certification of such documents by Jamar C. Orr, Esq., during the period August 1, 2022 to August 1, 2023”. Hayes also said as requested by Atiku, Jamar C Orr has certified all the documents.

“The responsive documents certified by Mr. Orr are produced herewith and Bates labelled CSU 0013 through CSU 0032. CSU’s prior objection to the Communications aspect of this request was sustained by the Court (see Doc. 40 at pp. 28 -29 and Doc. 54 at p. 32), hence no documents responsive to that subject are being produced,” said Hayes.