Federal Law
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Chicago State University tells Illinois court that federal law prohibits them from releasing Nigerian president’s academic records without consent or a court order
Chicago State University (CSU) in a press statement released on Wednesday said it cannot authenticate the certificate of the Nigerian president Bola Tinubu according to CBS Chicago on Thursday.
The Nigerian Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is seeking the academic records of Bola Tinubu on the grounds that documents showing that Tinubu graduated from Chicago State in 1979 were not authentic, and that it is grounds to nullify Tinubu’s election victory in the February 25 poll.
Tinubu submitted the diploma to Nigeria’s election commission purportedly issued in 1979 and signed by university President Elnora Daniel. But Daniel didn’t arrive at CSU until 1998 and left about ten years later. Submitting false records to the National Election Commission before the vote should nullify the election, Abubakar claims.
At a hearing in Chicago this week, Abubakar’s lawyers asked a federal judge to compel CSU officials to turn over Tinubu’s academic documents and appear for depositions. Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois did not rule on the request.
CSU’s lawyer, Michael Hayes, told Gilbert that the university wouldn’t be able to certify Tinubu’s diploma under oath.
A CSU spokeswoman said the university can confirm the president graduated. However, it cannot authenticate the diploma because it is a ceremonial document that is not part of a student’s official academic file.
“Federal law known as FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student records and limits what an institution can release.” CSU stated.
“In August 2023, a request was made in U.S. federal court for the university to provide information related to educational records concerning Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, and a former CSU student. The university has confirmed Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree. Federal law, however, prevents us from providing any further information without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order.” It added. “CSU is confident in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s completion of graduation requirements and degree certificate. The university is not a party to the Nigerian legal proceedings that spurred this request, and a U.S. federal judge will determine whether the university will provide further requested information.”
The university also debunked claims that it was covering up for its famous alumni saying. “Our response to the request for Tinubu’s academic records has been entirely consistent with our practices, policies and federal law. We would respond in exactly the same manner for any request for any student information by a third party.”
Judge Gilbert said the court has always taken a liberal and broad view in granting similar requests under Section 1782, a statute that allows the release of documents and evidence domiciled in the US to be obtained and used in a foreign proceeding.
Consequently, 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.
On September 6, the Nigerian Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) dismissed Abubakar’s claim against Tinubu’s Feb. 25 election. He has up till September 20 to file his appeal at the Nigerian Supreme Court.
Akowe with materials from CBS Chicago
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