Chicago State University (CSU) has officially verified President Bola Tinubu as an alum, attesting to his attendance and graduation in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree.
This confirmation comes in response to a legal action initiated by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Chicago. Atiku Abubakar filed a lawsuit to compel CSU officials to release Tinubu’s academic records and participate in depositions. CBS News in America has reported on the university’s statement regarding this matter.
CBS reports that at a hearing in Chicago this week, Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois did not rule on Atiku’s request.
CSU’s lawyer Michael Hayes told Gilbert that the university wouldn’t be able to certify Tinubu’s diploma submitted to INEC under oath as it is a ceremonial document that is not part of a student’s official academic file.
The institution said it was confident in the veracity and integrity of its records regarding Tinubu’s completion of graduation requirements and degree certificate, but was restrained by the United States’ federal law to provide any further information about Tinubu’s record, without consent or unless allowed to do so via an order by a federal judge.
The statement from the university reads: “As an educational institution, we are sometimes asked to provide information related to student records.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
