Tinubu attributes anomalies on Chicago certificate to university clerk

Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian president, has pointed to a clerk at Chicago State University (CSU) as the source of irregularities in a certificate that the university reissued in his name. The discrepancies were brought to light in recent court documents reviewed by the Peoples Gazette.

In response to a lawsuit, Tinubu asserted that the unnamed clerk was responsible for errors related to the dates of graduation mentioned on the certificate and the actual date he completed his studies. These discrepancies, he stated, created an “appearance of differences.”

Tinubu’s statement was submitted on August 23 through his legal representatives as part of his defense in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. This move followed a directive from Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, requiring the Nigerian politician to clarify his academic records at CSU by August 23, Gazzete reports. 

Earlier this month, Mr. Abubakar, the plaintiff in the case, had sought court permission to subpoena Mr. Tinubu’s records at CSU. He believed that these documents would address significant inconsistencies in Tinubu’s background, including public records suggesting that a female student named Bola Tinubu, born on March 29, 1954, was admitted to CSU in the 1970s. This contradicted Mr. Tinubu’s claim of being born on March 29, 1952, although he had previously listed 1954 as his birth year.

Moreover, Mr. Abubakar sought to uncover the educational records that Mr. Tinubu had submitted to CSU before his admission to study accounting there, particularly in light of controversies surrounding Tinubu’s primary and secondary education in Nigeria.

Tinubu’s lawyers contended that the subpoena issued in August 2022 was “illegal” and argued that the requested documents were not relevant to the original litigation concerning Nigerian elections. They also asserted that the Nigerian court overseeing the election petitions had already concluded its hearings and was set to deliver judgment by September 21, in accordance with Nigerian electoral law.

CSU authorities aligned with Tinubu’s stance, indicating that the decision to comply with the subpoena should rest with their former student.

Mr. Abubakar’s legal team is expected to respond to Tinubu’s argument, particularly addressing the relevance of the documents to the Nigerian proceeding and their admissibility at this stage of the case.