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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag-bearer in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has lost his bid to compel the Chicago State University (CSU) to provide him with academic records of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku had recently filed a lawsuit at the Chicago Circuit Court, seeking to subpoena the university.
This followed the controversy that trailed Tinubu's academic records during the campaigns when he stated that he had a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with honours.
Some persons questioned whether the President truly attended the university, and even the statement of Beverly Poindexter, who is in charge of official transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification at the Office of the Registrar, CSU, affirming Tinubu’s comment, couldn't convince the doubters.
Judge dismisses Atiku's case
However, the Circuit Court papers dated July 31, 2023, showed that Judge Patrick J. Heneghan had dismissed Atiku's case without prejudice.
Ruling on the matter, the judge held that the “petitioner’s subpoena, in this case, is withdrawn and thus Chicago State University will not be deposed pursuant to the subpoena in this case.”
Justice Heneghan stressed that the case, which had Atiku as the petitioner and CSU as the respondent, was dismissed without prejudice and resolved all matters pending before the court.
Tinubu well known in Chicago
This development comes just as a top-rated business litigation attorney in Chicago, Victor Henderson, said citizens in the State of Illinois have known Tinubu for decades as a distinguished graduate of Chicago State University and a well-respected international figure in the US.
He disclosed this in a statement dated August 2, 2023, saying, “Despite Tinubu’s prominence, Atiku Abubakar and a few of his followers have attempted to illegally access the President’s confidential educational records by filing an improper lawsuit without basic due process or even the simple decency of asking the President himself to release his records.
“The goal of Abubakar and others, of course, is to stain the President’s character and reputation and to try to steal an election that they lost.
“The good news for the President and his supporters is that the court dismissed the lawsuit that Abubakar improperly filed to get access to the President’s records.
“In addition, a leading Chicago State official recently confirmed, again, that the President is a long-time and distinguished alumnus of the university,” the statement partly read.