Tag: President asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

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Dismiss Atiku’s Appeal, It Lacks Merit – Tinubu Tells Supreme Court

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because it lacks merit.

Tinubu, who was the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, said this in a response filed by his lawyers on Saturday to Atiku’s notice of appeal.

Recall that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, in its judgment on September 6, dismissed the petition filed by Atiku challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

According to the tribunal, the former Vice President failed to prove all the averments in his petition, stressing that his petitions lacked merit and was dismissed.

However, Atiku filed 35 grounds notice of appeal before the Supreme Court on September 18 and asked the apex court to set aside the entire findings and conclusions of the tribunal.

In the appeal, the PDP candidate submitted that the tribunal’s findings were done with “grave errors and gross misrepresentation”, which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

In response to the appeal filed by Atiku, President Tinubu stated that the presidential election petition tribunal was correct in arriving at its verdict and affirming his election.

The president insisted that the appellants failed to prove all their allegations and submissions at the tribunal, adding that they have demonstrated any reason why the apex court should disturb any of the findings of the lower court.

Tinubu, however, described the appeal filed by the PDP candidate as “abusive in nature” and prayed for its dismissal.

He said: “Neither the appellants have demonstrated any reason why this honourable court should disturb any of the findings of the lower court, which, with all modesty, are rooted in law and a perfect demonstration of scholarship.

“We accordingly urge this honourable court to affirm the decision of the lower court, while dismissing this appeal in its entirety, as same is lacking in merit and bona fide.

“Everything put together or summarized, this appeal is a further demonstration of the abusive nature to which the appellants have subjected court processes. The supreme court is urged to dismiss it.

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Tinubu Sets Up Committee To Tackle Flooding, Appoints Yahaya Bello As Chairman

A committee has been set up by President Bola Tinubu to mitigate the impact of the impending flood crisis across the country.

To this effect, he has appointed Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, as the Chairman of the committee and the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, will serve as Vice Chairman.

The president said the committee will produce a road map by harmonising the recent National Economic Council (NEC) report on the flood, the 2022 National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, as well as all other national reports on the flood.

The committee is expected to submit its recommendations in seven days.

At an emergency meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu gave marching orders to the committee for an action plan on all the reports, saying it was better to be proactive than reactive.

Shettima said: “Based on the submissions by the DG of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, the situation is not that terrible, but to be forewarned is to be forearmed. The submissions by the other relevant stakeholders are equally poignant, and we can’t afford to take chances.

“Though the situation is not as bad as we might think, we need to set up a committee so that the report of the Presidential Committee and the 2022 Federal Executive Council – approved broad preparedness plan should be harmonised and implemented immediately,” the Vice President stated the President’s position.”

Shettima noted that a feasible roadmap would address the flood crisis in Nigeria, adding that responsibilities would be shouldered by the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Federal Government.

He stated: “I deliberately invited the NEDC and NDDC so that with whatever resources that NEMA has, they have to be released to the states so that they can start making preparations for any eventuality.

“Based on the Presidential directive, I will meet with the Chief Executives of the NEDC and NDDC for states that are under their coverage. There should be interventions from them. For NEDC, they can take care of Taraba, Bauchi and Adamawa. For NDDC, they can take care of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Cross River. For states like Ebonyi, Kogi and Benue, we will mobilise from our savings and deploy the same to assist them. We have to share responsibilities and hence the immediate need for the roadmap to be implemented”.

The Chief Executives of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), National Water Resources Institute, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) all made presentations with reactions from Governors of Bauchi, Kogi, Ebonyi and Cross River States. Akwa Ibom and Nasarawa State Governors were represented by their Deputies.

Other members of the committee include the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of State for Environment, Kunle Salako; Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Muhammad Goronyo; Chief Executives of NEMA, NIWA and NiHSA, among others.

The Special Adviser to the President on NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai, will serve as secretary of the committee.

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FG Remains Mum Five Weeks After Recall Of Ambassadors

The Tinubu-led Federal government has remained silent on its next move, five weeks after it recalled ambassadors.

Even though there are still 21 days before the October 31 deadline for their return, speculations are that the federal government might have made a U-turn to extend its policy on the recall.

It would be recalled that President Tinubu, on September 2, recalled all of Nigeria’s ambassadors, both career and non-career envoys. Nigeria has no fewer than 300 foreign missions.

Five weeks after this, the federal government has remained silent, and this has left envoys in a fix as to what is happening.

According to Vanguard, sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there was no going back on the recall, But an ambassador who pleaded anonymity told the platform that there is nothing on the ground to facilitate the envoy’s return on or before October 31.

A senior staff of the Foreign Affairs Ministry who craved anonymity said: “So far, no machinery has been put in motion for return of the envoys.

“Under normal circumstances, each envoy who is expected to return by the end of this month, by now, should have received his or her AIEs (Authority to incur Expenditures) for his or her passages.

“it is traditional and very important to have swiftly sent these AIEs to ambassadors and other envoys because you don’t expect an ambassador to wake up one morning and just jump into a flight without advanced booking as well as making arrangements to airfreight his or her belongings home.”

She said the government might have had a change of heart, “if not, by now, they (envoys) would have equally received cash backing.”

The AIE explains the details of the entitlement of each envoy in terms of their passages and other travel arrangements to return to Nigeria.

Meanwhile, a serving female ambassador told the platform, she was yearning to come home to reunite with her family, but she can’t because even if she did on her own accord, it might take her about five years to get her money from the government.

She said, “We are in the dark over the whole issue. I asked some foreign affairs ministry officials, one of them said” “Why don’t you stay there? Why are you in a hurry to return?

‘’They don’t expect you to trek home. Stay put until the government makes up its mind to send you money to come back or extend your stay.

“Some of them advised us to stay put until the government does the needful by sending us AIEs for our passages.”

Another diplomat, who pleaded anonymity, said he expected the ministry to be tidying up the arrangement by now.

Asked if the October 31 date would be met, even as the ministry is yet to conclude the official document, he said: “They (envoys) were given October ending, so they should be preparing by now. That is part of the bureaucracy, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

“The ministry has the right to ask the officer to come back, but the ministry also has the obligation to pay before they come back.”

However, this platform learned that the federal government has an attitude of owing envoys after they have been recalled back home.

Commenting on that, a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the ministry has a penchant for such behaviour.

He said: “The ministry had been doing that for years, but it is wrong that an officer will be on course and he has not been paid for nine months.

“How does the ministry expect the officer to feed himself and his family and do other things? The ministry is right to ask the officer to come back, but the ministry also has the obligation to pay them before they come back. Is the ministry going to pay them in dollars or naira when the expenditure is in dollars?”

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Tinubu’s CSU Certificate: Lawmakers Move To Regulate Fake News On Social Media

According to reports, lawmakers in the country are reportedly plotting to bring up a bill to regulate fake news on social media.

The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State, Comrade Chinedu Ogah, disclosed this while reacting to the viral claims on social media over the alleged Chicago State University (CSU) certificate forgery by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to Ogah, the National Assembly would soon adopt the bill and consequently sign it into law to regulate the spread of fake news on social media in Nigeria.

Ogah stated this while addressing journalists during the weekend in Abakiliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

“We at the National Assembly will soon enact a law on fake news essentially to control social media as it is in other countries. And that is to say that whatever people say or write will be regulated. You don’t sit in your room and post whatever you think to write.

“And from my own point of view, those people calling for the resignation of President Tinubu are doing it out of hatred. They have no facts. They believe what is posted on social media. Nigeria has rules; we have a constitution that the people are subjected to,” Daily Trust quoted the lawmaker as saying.

Recall that candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the February 25th poll.

Atiku alleged in his petitions that Tinubu forged his CSU certificate submitted to INEC for eligibility in the 2023 election.

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CSU Certificate: Presidency Twists Facts To Confuse Public, Atiku Alleges

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, has alleged that the presidency twisted facts to confuse the mind of the public regarding President Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University academic records.

The PUNCH reports that the CSU released Tinubu’s academic record to Atiku after weeks of legal tussle, and the former vice president on Friday filed the CSU documents as fresh evidence at the Supreme Court.

Atiku and Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had filed 86 grounds of appeal at the Supreme Court to nullify the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal’s judgment that affirmed Tinubu’s victory.

The former VP in a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, alleged that some media aides to the president have come out openly to “push back on the narrative.”

He alleged further that some media houses have persistently slanted their story to justify a corrupted interpretation of the facts in the disposition.

He insisted that Tinubu falsified a document he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission and swore an affidavit under oath to back it up.

According to him, “On page 26 of the deposition which is publicly available, the Registrar of the Chicago State University, Caleb Westberg, under oath, was asked a simple question that, “CSU has determined that it does not have a true and correct copy of the diploma issued to Bola Tinubu is 1979, correct? To which the Registrar responded, That’s correct.”

“Also, on page 27, a similar question was put to Mr. Westberg: So, CSU, after going through every diploma, was unable to find an authentic copy of any diploma that CSU issued to Tinubu in 1979. Is that correct? The CSU Registrar, in his response, said: We did not find any diploma issued by CSU in 1979 to Mr. Tinubu.”

Atiku’s aide revealed that when asked whether the CSU is aware of or in possession of the diploma that Tinubu submitted to INEC,” Mr. Westberg simply said, “Correct, we are not aware of it.”

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Atiku Finally Approaches Supreme Court, Files Fresh Evidence Against Tinubu’s Victory

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has finally filed fresh evidence at the Supreme Court of Nigeria against the qualifications of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

Atiku, a former Vice President, said in the fresh evidence that he is categorically and authoritatively asserting that the Diploma Certificate of the Chicago State University (CSU) used by Tinubu to secure qualifications for participation in the election is fake, having been allegedly forged.

In a motion on notice filed by his legal team headed by Chris Uche SAN, Atiku asked the Supreme Court to invoke its Order 2 Rule 12 of 1985 to admit the fresh evidence of certificate forgery and perjury in support of his pending appeal before the Court to do substantial justice to his case.

Atiku, in the motion, marked SC/CV/935/2023, prayed the Apex Court to grant him leave to produce the additional evidence and for the Court to receive the fresh evidence from him.

Respondents in the motion are the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, as 1st to 3rd respectively.

The motion is predicated on several grounds but mainly on the release of academic records of Tinubu, evidence of the Registrar of the Chicago State University before a United States of America Court and the deposition of the same witness in respect of the Diploma Certificate President Tinubu presented to INEC for the purpose of eligibility for the election.

Other grounds in the motion are that “The 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) was not qualified at the time of the election to contest the election as required by Section 137 (1) (j) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

“Based on facts available to the Appellants/Applicants (Atiku) at the time of filing their Petition, the 1st Appellar Applicant (Atiku Abubakar,) through his United States of

American lawyers, Alexander de Cmmont and Argela M. Liu of the law firm of Dechert LLP o11900 K Street, NW, Washington DC 20006-1110, unsuccessfully applied to Chicago State University for the release of copies of the academic records of the 2nd Respondent.

“Given the strict privacy laws in the jurisdiction of Chicago State University, the request for the release of the academic records and certificate issued to the 2nd Respondent could not be granted without an order of court and for the purpose of use in pending court proceedings.

“The 1st Applicant through his said US-based Attomeys thereupon brought an action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois -In rc: Application of Atiku Abubakar for an Order Directing Discovery from Chicago State University Case No. 23-CV-05099 for an order for the production of documents and testimony for use in a proceeding in a foreign court, seeking documents and testimony from Chicago State University concerning the authenticity and origin of documents purporting to be the educational records of the 2nd Respondent, Bola A. Tinubu.

“The 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) applied and was joined in the matter as an Intervenor, vehemently opposed rhe application.

“On September 19, 2023, the Court issued an order granting the application and

thereafter, the 2nd Respondent applied for an emergency stay of the Court Order, claiming that he would suffer irreparable damage and injury if his educational records were released: which order of stay was granted.

“On September 30, 2023, the Court overruled the 2nd Respondent’s objections and ordered Chicago State University to produce tbe documents on October 2, 2023, and to produce a witness for deposition on October 3, 2023.

“On October 2, 2023. Chicago State University produced the documents pursuant to the Court’s Order.

“On October 3, 2023, also pursuant to the Court’s Order, Chicago State University provided a witness to give deposition testimony, in which deposition, Chicago State University disclaimed ownership and

authorship of the document that the 2nd Respondent presented to INEC, purporting to be “Chicago State University certificate” and also disclaimed issuing any replacement certificate to him.

“The deposition was not in existence or available at the time of filing the petition.

“The deposition sought to be adduced is, along with its accompanying documents, such as would have important effect in the resolution of this appeal.

“The deposition is relevant to this matter, having confirmed that the certificate presented by the 2nd Respondent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not emanate from Chicago State

University, and that whoever issued the certificate presented by the 2nd Respondent, did not have the authority of the Chicago State University, and that the 2nd Respondent never applied for any replacement certificate nor was he issued any replacement certificate by the Chicago State University.

“The deposition, which is on oath and deposed to in the presence of the 2nd Respondent’s Attorney, is credible and believable and ought to be believed.

“The deposition is clear and unambiguous, and no further evidence is needed to be adduced on it. The evidence is such that could not have been obtained without reasonable diligence for use at the trial, as the deposition required the commencement of the suit in the United States of America before receiving same. It is not possible to obtain the said evidence before the trial at the Court below.

“The deposition was made on October 03, 2Q23 after the conclusion of trial at the Court below, and was not available to be tendered at the trial.

“Presentation of a forged certificate to the lndependent National Electoral Commission by a candidate in an election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a weighty constitutional matter,

requiring consideration by the Courts as custodians of the Constitution.

“The original certified deposition has been forwarded to the Honourable Court by a letter addressed to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court

“It is in the interest of justice for the Honourable Court to exercise its discretion in favour of the Appellants/Applicants.”

The motion was supported by several paragraph affidavit deposed to on behalf of Atiku and PDP by one Uyi Giwa-Osagie, a legal practitioner of Plot 120, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja.

It read in part, “That the 1st Appellant/Applicant contested the election to the ofiice of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the 2nd Appellant/Applicant, which election was conducted by the 1st Respondent on the 25th day of February 2023.

“That the 1st Respondent retumed the 2nd Respondent as the winner of the said election, and hence the Appellants, beirg dissatisfied with the retum, filed a Petition on the 21st day of March 2023 before the Court of Appeal sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Count.

“That the Court below had by a judgment delivered on 6th September 2023

dismissed the said Petition, whereupon the Appellants/Applicants appealed against the said judgment to this Honourable Court in September 2023.

“That the Record of Appeal has been transmitted to this Honourable Court and the appeal duly entered, and the said Record ofAppeal is now before this Honourable Court, running into over 9,000 pages in 11 Volumes, upon which the Appellants/Applicarts are relying in this application.

“That I know that one of the grounds of the Appellants/Applicants’ Petition before the Court below is that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) was not qualified at the time of the election to contest the election and did not meet the constitutiolal theshold to contest.”

Meanwhile, no date has yet been fixed for hearing of the motion.

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Tinubu’s Academic Records: Atiku Lacks Moral Justification To Talk About Integrity – Ajiboye

Abiodun Ajiboye, a member of the defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has tackled Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He berated Atiku over his quest to obtain the academic certificates of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Recall that Atiku is seeking to include the academic records of the president in his appeal of the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal at the Supreme Court.
The PDP flagbearer had alleged discrepancies in the certificate Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest in the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking during the press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Atiku stated that every Nigerian was embarrassed by the alleged certificate scandal of the president.
The former vice president asserted that he would only drop the battle against the president after the Supreme Court’s judgment, saying that the unravelling of the truth about Tinubu’s records is not personal.
Atiku also paid tribute to the late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, for inspiring him on the path of discovery, saying that he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition.
He also alleged that Tinubu also sent a delegation of APC governors to meet with him immediately after the election, but that he rebuffed them, saying that he was not indebted to Tinubu as believed by many.
The former vice president also accused the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari of revoking the contracts of his logistics company, Intells.
Speaking in an interview on Arise News on Thursday night, Ajiboye said the former vice president is the most corrupt human being on earth as described by his former principal, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The APC chieftain said Atiku cannot be talking about the morality of President Tinubu when he is highly immoral and corrupt.
He said: “Obasanjo said Atiku is the most corrupt human being. You cannot talk about morality when you are highly immoral.“
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CSU Certificate Saga: Why Supreme Court May Not Admit Fresh Evidence – Lawyer

It has been revealed that the Supreme Court may not admit fresh evidence in the appeal of the judgment of the presidential election petition tribunal.
The assertion was made by a former Chairman at the Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani.
Ubani was reacting to the case initiated by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar in the United States.
Atiku had requested for the release of President Bola Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University with claims that the certificate the President submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC may not be authentic.
Speaking on the development on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Ubani said, “Looking at the facts surrounding it, the issue of admissibility of fresh evidence by the appellate court is very rare, especially if that evidence was available to you while you were initiating the process.
 
“The Supreme Court will never, even the Court of Appeal will not admit fresh evidence because their job is to review the decision of the court below and not to now evaluate any evidence. 
 
“They don’t take any evidence but there are special circumstances under which fresh evidence can be admitted by the appellate court and that ground is maybe by the time you file the case that evidence was not available.”
President Tinubu, through his lawyers, resisted Atiku’s demand for his records to be released, but the US court eventually ordered CSU to release the President’s academic records to Atiku, who had told the court he needed them for his appeal in the Supreme Court.
Ubani said it will take a lot from Atiku’s legal team to convince the Supreme Court to admit fresh evidence in the appeal of the election tribunal judgment, as the apex court will only be reviewing the decision of the lower court.
The senior lawyer noted that Atiku’s legal team will be challenged by Tinubu’s team on the issue of admissibility of fresh evidence; adding that the court may be left to use its discretionary power to decide whether or not to admit fresh evidence in the case.
He said, “The issue of admissibility of fresh evidence is very critical, you must convince, and whoever is bringing it will be opposed by the other party. So, the court now exercises what is called discretionary power in either admitting or not allowing that fresh evidence to come in.”
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Why I Slumped During Ministerial Screening – Balarabe

President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominee, Abbas Balarabe, who collapsed during screening at the Red Chamber has given an update on his health.

Balarabe disclosed that he was exhausted while getting ready for his screening for a ministerial role.

According to Balarabe, he was informed of his nomination on Tuesday and had stayed up all night preparing for his ‘big day’.

The minister said, “It is basically exhaustion. I got the news of my nomination yesterday and I had to come from Kaduna.

“There were so many things to do which I attended to throughout the night.

“What happened today is as a result of pure exhaustion.

“I want to thank the Senate for their understanding particularly the senators from my State ( Kaduna) who have all gathered around me since yesterday and the medical team who took care of me.

“I am alright now, nothing is wrong with me. What I experienced was pure exhaustion which can happen to anybody.”

There was drama in the Senate earlier today when the nominee who replaced former Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai suddenly collapsed during his screening.

Balarabe, the second nominee to face screening after Dr. Ibrahim, had just concluded recounting his experiences when the incident happened.

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Chicago State University Says Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu Presented Forged Certificate to INEC

A degree certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the presidential election did not come from Chicago State University, according to Peoples Gazette.
The paper reported that this was revealed at a deposition of school officials on Tuesday in Chicago.
Caleb Westberg, the registrar at Chicago State University, said Mr Tinubu’s certificate, dated June 22, 1979, and tendered to INEC on June 17, 2022, was not issued by the school and its administrators could, therefore, not be able to authenticate its source, The Gazette learnt.
Mr Westberg, CSU’s registrar since November 2020, also said, during the deposition that lasted about 5.5 hours, that Mr Tinubu did not apply for a replacement certificate, nor was he ever issued one.
The categorical statement capped a successful outcome for the monthslong legal strategy of Atiku Abubakar, Mr Tinubu’s main opponent, who approached the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the document. Federal district judge Nancy Maldonado granted a final order for CSU administrators to turn over all documents relating to Mr Tinubu to the school and also sit down for deposition by an adversarial team of lawyers deployed by Mr Abubakar.

Mr Tinubu, sensing the intractable consequences of the proceeding, vigorously fought to thwart its successful outcome, with his lawyers warning the judge in a September 21 hearing that releasing the documents with deposition would inevitably inflict severe, irreparable harm against the Nigerian president.
The school had long insisted that Mr Tinubu was its student, entering in 1977 and graduating in 1979, but its inability to authenticate the certificate the Nigerian president submitted would ripple through Nigeria’s over 200 million population for the foreseeable future.
Previously in 1999, Mr Tinubu had lied under oath when he ran for governor of Lagos, claiming he obtained a degree from the prestigious University of Chicago. However, he managed to escape being held accountable for the breach because he had been elected before it was discovered, and he did not submit a certificate backing his claim, only an affidavit that was later found to be fiction, and the Nigerian Supreme Court said he could not be charged with crimes as a serving governor. He subsequently stopped claiming attendance at the University of Chicago, holding on instead to a claim that he attended Chicago State University, one of Illinois State University campuses traditionally popular among black people.
A spokesman for the president was not immediately available for reaction to the development on Tuesday night. But the president’s allies have suggested publicly that the evidence was inconsequential and propagated the Supreme Court’s readiness to throw it out.
The president’s allies are also banking on the muddled circumstances of the president’s certificate spiel, believing his Nigerian lawyers would be able to convince the Supreme Court to focus more on the school’s position that Mr Tinubu was a student rather than how he came about parading a forged certificate.

On Monday evening, shortly after the school dumped records into the electronic filing portal used by lawyers to all parties, Mr Tinubu’s team circulated a misrepresented account of the documents, successfully misleading some media outlets to run a claim that the school had authenticated Mr Tinubu’s certificate.
They also said a replacement was issued to Mr Tinubu on June 27, 1997, in what seemed to be a reference to the certificate the school had submitted following a 2022 subpoena obtained from a state court by Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah.
Mr Enahoro-Ebah received the certificate, dated June 27, 1979, alongside all academic records of Mr Tinubu from CSU in August 2022. But the certificate was signed by Elnora Daniel and Niva Lubin, who were not at the school in 1979 and carried June 27, 1979, as its issuance date.
After comparing the certificate he was given by CSU to the certificate Mr Tinubu submitted to INEC, dated June 22, 1979, Mr Enahoro-Ebah promptly returned to Nigeria with the records and filed a criminal complaint against Mr Tinubu for forgery. But the case was stalled in an Abuja court for months before the election and has not been heard even months after the election.
Mr Atiku used the conflicting records to approach the federal court in Chicago for a subpoena as part of his ongoing case against Mr Tinubu in Nigeria, culminating in Tuesday’s deposition that established Mr Tinubu forged his certificate in violation of the Constitution.
Mr Tinubu was narrowly declared the winner of the February 25 presidential election, and he was only sworn in on May 29. But today’s development could all but mark a putative end to his presidency due to the constitutional proscription against the submission of a fake certificate to the electoral office.
Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
The records obtained from the school, the deposition and other material collected through the U.S. legal system are now being prepared for onward submission to the Nigeria Supreme Court, where a final decision on the presidential election challenge would be made on or before December 6, 2023.
While the evidence may appear overwhelming to a plurality of Nigerians, its acceptance would still need to cross a formidable hurdle at the Supreme Court. This is because the court has conventionally rejected the introduction of new material at the top court level that was not previously argued during the initial trial.
Mr Abubakar himself admitted before two U.S. judges who heard his discovery application that it would be a daunting challenge to convince the Supreme Court to accept the files, yet not entirely improbable.
Mr Abubakar lost at the Court of Appeal, the initial court for presidential election disputes, when a panel of five judges on September 6 said his petition was too weak to overturn Mr Tinubu’s election.
Mr Tinubu’s lawyers, in the U.S., argued against granting Mr Abubakar’s application to extract their client’s records over an admissibility challenge. But Ms Maldonado, nonetheless, said in her September 30 judgement that the records should be released, and any questions about usefulness would be answered by the Nigerian Supreme Court.
Mr Abubakar filed the application to obtain Mr Tinubu’s CSU records and depose its officials on August 2, 2023, coming under Section 1782, the statute that allows the U.S. to turn over records “for use in a proceeding before a foreign tribunal.”

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