Chicago State University lawyer Michael Hayes categorically stated that the school was not in a position to authenticate Tinubu’s certificate as either fake or genuine as the Northern District Court of Illinois adjourned ruling on a subpoena application for Bola Tinubu’s university records
The adjournment by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert came on Tuesday after the CSU said it was not in a position to confirm the certificate Tinubu submitted to the Nigeria’s electoral commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to run for office of Nigeria’s president
“Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Hayes said at the hearing in Chicago that began at about 1:30pm and lasted several hours in the lawsuit brought by Atiku Abubakar, one of Tinubu’s main challenger during the February 25 presidential election.
Hayes was responding to the judge’s inquiry into the school’s ability to confirm under oath that Tinubu was issued the certificate he tendered to Nigeria’s electoral office as part of his final eligibility paperwork in June 2022.
On June 17, 2022, Tinubu submitted a certificate to INEC that was purportedly issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. But Ms Daniel only arrived at CSU in 1998 from Hampton University, 19 years after Tinubu was said to have graduated. She then left the school in 2008 following a financial mismanagement scandal, or 14 years before June 2022 when CSU issued yet a fresh certificate in Tinubu’s name under subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer who had inquired about Tinubu’s education there.
The jarring contradictions, among others, caused Abubakar to file the suit compeling CSU to produce records relating to Tinubu and make it available for deposition
Judge Gilbert said he would need additional time to reflect before ruling on the matter, but asked lawyers to all the parties to go through records submitted before the court and update them if necessary in the meantime.
He said a date for a final ruling or additional hearing would be communicated to the parties.
SOURCE: Thisday
IMAGE : Web
