Tinubu, Atiku resume legal battle in US Monday over Chicago academic record
The legal teams of President Bola Tinubu and Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar will on Monday restart their legal battle in a US court over the President’s Chicago academic credentials.
Nancy Maldonado, a US District Judge, decided to suspend an order forcing Chicago State University to make Tinubu’s academic papers available to Atiku’s legal team on Thursday.
The meeting was scheduled for late Thursday night after the President’s attorneys submitted an emergency plea to postpone the enforcement of the self-executing decision requiring the CSU to comply with Atiku’s subpoenas until Monday.
Atiku is currently contesting the former Lagos State governor’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, as well as an election petition court’s subsequent affirmation of his victory.
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Earlier, a magistrate, 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 PDP 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 as the deadline given by Gilbert drew nearer on Thursday, Tinubu’s lawyers approached Maldonado, arguing that the earlier decision by Gilbert needed to be reviewed by a district judge.
The request for a review and delay of the order till Monday was granted by the US district judge.
In the emergency hearing, Maldonado disclosed that mindful of legal deadlines in Nigeria, she would rule on the matter as quickly as possible.
“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,” she said.
