The ongoing legal dispute between President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar regarding Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University has taken a new turn.
Olajide Adeniji, who claims to have been a classmate of Tinubu, testified in a U.S. district court that he knows Tinubu and even contested against him as the President of the Accounting Society Club in the Department of Business Admin/Accounting at the same university.
This development comes after public affairs analyst Durojaiye Ogunsanya also claimed to have been Tinubu’s coursemate and that they both graduated from the Department of Accounting and Business Administration in 1979 at the same university.
Adeniji’s affidavit, sworn on September 23 in the Northern District of Illinois Court in Chicago, confirms his familiarity with Tinubu, who is now the President of Nigeria, and their shared academic history at Chicago State University.
Atiku had previously obtained an application for CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to his legal team, and a magistrate ordered the university to provide relevant documents within two days.
Atiku is currently challenging Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election and his affirmation by an election petition court in Nigeria.
The documents sought by Atiku’s legal team include admission records, attendance dates, degrees, awards, and honors received by Tinubu during his time at the university.
However, Tinubu has requested that the U.S. district Judge, Nancy Maldonado, protect his privileged information, such as admission records and transcripts, and release only his certificate to Atiku’s legal team, as emphasized by his lawyer, Christopher Carmichael.
This motion is based on the belief that the most critical information has already been established by Tinubu’s alma mater.
