The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois postponed its decision on a subpoena application for Bola Tinubu’s records from Chicago State University on Tuesday after the university denied knowing about a certificate the Nigerian president submitted to the country’s INEC to run for office.

CSU attorney Michael Hayes firmly asserted before Judge Jeffrey Gilbert in Chicago that the institution was not in a position to authenticate Tinubu’s certificate as either fake or genuine, contrary to the school’s earlier claims that it gave the Nigerian politician a certificate after his graduation in 1979.

“Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Hayes asserted at the hearing in Chicago that began at about 1:30 p.m. (local) and lasted several hours in the lawsuit brought by Atiku Abubakar, one of President Tinubu’s main opponents during the February 25 presidential election

The lawyer maintained that if asked under oath, the school’s administration would be unable to validate Tinubu’s certificate because they “just don’t know” where or how he received it.

Hayes was responding to the judge’s inquiry concerning the school’s ability to swear under oath that Tinubu received the certificate he presented to Nigeria’s electoral office in June 2022 as part of his final eligibility paperwork.

Submitting questionable documents to INEC is a violation of the Nigerian Constitution and politicians, including governors, have been removed from office for similar offences.

Hayes argued that CSU records proved Tinubu attended the school, but confirmed that there were various discrepancies that the institution’s administration would be unable to resolve under oath.

Among the inconsistencies are the June 22, 1977, date on Tinubu’s certificate, the school’s president at the time the certificate was received, and typographical, typeface, and header issues on the document.

On June 17, 2022, Tinubu presented to INEC a certificate reportedly issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. Daniel, on the other hand, came to CSU from Hampton University in 1998, 19 years after Tinubu was claimed to have graduated.

She subsequently left the institution in 2008, 14 years before June 2022, when CSU issued a new certificate in Tinubu’s name in response to a subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer who had enquired about Tinubu’s schooling there.

According to the Nigerian opposition leader’s lawyers, the jarring contrasts prompted Atiku Abubakar to initiate the complaint to compel CSU to produce papers relating to Tinubu and make its top officials accessible for deposition to authenticate the produced records.

The records and depositions are being sought for use at the Nigerian Supreme Court, where the final struggle against Tinubu’s election is now going, according to Alexandre de Gramont, who appeared in court for Atiku Abubakar.

De Gramont stated that the Nigerian Court of Appeal upheld Tinubu’s election in its September 6 ruling because the panel lacked CSU’s position on the authenticity of the certificate Tinubu presented and that the Supreme Court may be able to admit CSU’s position on the document under a special rule.

“Your Honour, we don’t know whether the Nigerian Supreme Court would be receptive to the new evidence or not, but we just want to be able to present the new evidence to them from CSU.

“We already have them (the documents), what we are seeking is CSU’s authentication or their explanation for some of the discrepancies”, De Gramont stated.

Atiku Abubakar has until September 20 to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgement from September 6, which is the first instance court in Nigeria’s presidential election tribunal process.

Judge Gilbert stated that the court has historically adopted a liberal and broad approach in granting comparable requests under Section 1782, a legislation that allows papers and evidence domiciled in the United States to be retrieved and utilised in a foreign matter.

Tinubu’s lawyers, represented by Christopher Carmichael via phone conference, said Atiku Abubakar was on a fishing expedition, noting that CSU’s prior assurances to the effect that Tinubu graduated from the school were sufficient.

Carmichael stated that there was no need to offer additional evidence or put school authorities under oath to testify about the authenticity of Tinubu’s certificate, claiming that the proceeding would merely fuel online trolls because the Supreme Court would not accept fresh evidence even if it was presented.

As a result, Judge Gilbert stated that he would need more time to deliberate before ruling on the matter, but he requested lawyers for all parties to check over the records provided to the court and update them if required in the meantime

He also stated that the parties would be notified of a date for a final ruling or additional hearing.