In response to a court order from Judge Nancy Maldonado of the United States District Court of Illinois, Chicago State University (CSU) has released academic records belonging to President Bola Tinubu. The deposition of CSU staff regarding this matter is scheduled for today in court.

While the university was unable to produce the original copy of Tinubu’s 1979 certificate, stating that they do not typically retain copies of students’ diplomas, they did release various diploma certificates from other graduates. Notably, these documents revealed variations in signatories, logos, and raised questions about the timeline of Tinubu’s education.

In their compliance with the request for records, CSU shared documents labeled as CSU 008n through CSU 0010, with the names of students redacted for privacy. Additionally, they provided diplomas of other CSU students (with redacted names) that matched the format of Tinubu’s diploma dated June 27, 1997.

The deposition scheduled for today is expected to shed more light on these issues.

Judge Maldonado had previously ordered CSU to produce all requested documents by noon yesterday, Chicago time. The released records included a total of 32 documents.

Tinubu’s primary and secondary education, along with his university records, have been subjects of significant controversy. The discrepancies in signatory names, the number of persons signing certificates issued in 1979, and changes in the institution’s logo have all raised questions.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had accusAcademic records releaseed Tinubu of submitting a forged CSU certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to qualify for the 2023 presidential election. Atiku had sought additional evidence from the US court to support his claims.

Although Tinubu had initially objected to the release of these records and sought a review by a district court, Judge Maldonado ultimately ruled in favor of releasing the documents to Atiku. She set a deadline for CSU to comply with the court order, which resulted in the release of the records.

The released documents also revealed that Tinubu claimed to have graduated from Government College, Lagos, in 1970, despite the college being founded in 1974.

Atiku and the PDP are seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s presidency based on allegations of non-compliance with electoral laws, irregularities, and corruption. They have also accused Tinubu of criminal offenses related to forgery, perjury, and double citizenship.

In light of these developments, the deposition today is expected to provide further clarity on these contentious issues.