District Judge Nancy Maldonado has delayed the release of Chicago State University records to Atiku Abubakar.
This came after Bola Tinubu’s lawyers pleaded severe and irreparable consequences to his life if the documents were released.
The judge agreed that the matter might be too severe for Mr Tinubu to bear and granted a stay for further argument on the matter.
The Judge gave Mr Tinubu’s lawyers until Monday to file a full brief on the matter before the court.
Mr Abubakar’s lawyers said they would reply to the brief by 11:00 p.m. on the same day.
Mindful of legal deadlines in Nigeria, Maldonado said she would rule as quickly as possible after that. “I will have a busy weekend,” she said.
“The issue is of process and rules. I’m a rule person; that’s why I’m a judge. This case is quite involved. I am aware of the stakes. It’s more important to me to get this right.”
Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the Northern District of Illinois Court in the United States had ordered the management of Chicago State University (CSU) to release all relevant documents pertaining to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu within two days.
The ruling was in response to an application filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election.
Tinubu’s political rival, Atiku Abubakar, claims that documents showing that Tinubu graduated from Chicago State in 1979 are not authentic, and that is grounds to nullify Tinubu’s election victory earlier this year.
Abubakar claims that Tinubu submitted a forged Chicago State diploma to the country’s election commission before the vote, which should disqualify him.
Both Maldonado and Gilbert acknowledged a tight time frame considering the legal challenges happening in Nigeria and ordered CSU to submit relevant documents this week.