Folarin Kehinde

The Nasarawa State Election Petition Tribunal has declared David Ombugadu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election, effectively sacking the incumbent Governor, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to report, the Tribunal, led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, gave the ruling on Monday.

The Tribunal, earlier in the day, also dismissed a petition filed by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) challenging Governor Sule’s victory for lacking in merit.

More details to come……

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has ordered Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to Nigeria’s former Vice President and the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, unfailingly, by mid-day today, October 2.

The court ordered that deposition of the university must be completed by tomorrow, Tuesday, October 3.

The order followed Hon. Nancy Maldonado’s overruling of Tinubu’s objection to the release of his academic records at CSU to Atiku.

Maldonado’s order, which came after nearly two months of fierce legal fireworks in the US over the authenticity of the Diploma certificate paraded by Nigeria’s president, was expected to resolve all controversies over Tinubu’s educational qualifications, which had been raging for nearly three decades.

Maldonado, in her court judgement delivered on September 30, emphasised, “That it is expressing no view on the merits of Mr. Abubakar’s claims regarding President Tinubu’s graduation from CSU, or on the validity of the Nigerian election. Nor is the court taking any position on what any of the documents or testimony from CSU may or may not ultimately show.

“These are all matters for the Nigerian courts to resolve under Nigerian law, and it is not appropriate for this U.S. court to opine on such issues or attempt to predict how foreign courts might ultimately rule if and when they are presented with any evidence from CSU.”
The court, in its judgement on Tinubu’s objection to the release of his CSU records to Atiku, held that Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert was right in granting Atiku’s application for discovery.

While pointing out that Atiku met the statutory requirements and the discretionary factors supported granting the application, Maldonado held, “This court will not obstruct the flow of discovery solely within the possession of a U.S. institution on a matter of such importance, when the respondent stands ready and willing to provide it.”

Besides, Maldonado agreed with the lower court that Atiku’s interest in the discovery outweighed Tinubu’s privacy interests, adding that the court needs not concern itself with any burden to CSU in making the production.
“The court finds the final discretionary factor weighs in favour of granting the application,” the judge stated.

Gilbert had on September 19, while delivering judgement in Atiku’s application for discovery, directed CSU, to produce and release within 48 hours certain documents and testimony related to Tinubu, which the institution claimed graduated in 1979.

Dissatisfied with the order, Tinubu had on the eve of the expiration of the order on CSU, approached the district court to temporarily halt the discharge of the order for discovery till September 25, when he would file his appeal against the order.

Among others, he had submitted before the district court that Gilbert erred in making the order and claimed that the lower court went beyond its mandatory duty of recommending to the district court to give a final judgement.

He also pleaded protection and privacy laws regarding the release of academic records in the US. In urging the district court to rescind the order of the magistrate court, he said the documents Atiku sought from the court were for mere expedition purposes, which could not be used at the apex court in Nigeria.

Tinubu, however, pleaded that if the district court was inclined to upholding the judgement of Gilbert, it should be limited to the Diploma certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But delivering judgement on Saturday, Maldonado upheld and adopted the judgement of Gilbert. The judge noted that Atiku’s case had merit, adding that the order cannot be limited to the Diploma certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC.

The judge held, “With three factors weighing in favour, and one neutral, the court finds on balance the discretionary factors support granting Atiku’s application.

“President Tinubu did not specifically object to Judge Gilbert’s rulings with respect to the scope of the discovery requests, other than to generally state they are too broad.

“But even if he had, the court independently finds the requests are appropriately tailored to seek relevant information. Atiku did not object to the portion of Judge Gilbert’s ruling limiting the scope of his request for production four mentioned above, and at any rate, the court agrees that asking CSU to conduct electronic discovery is neither justified nor feasible at this time.

“The court, therefore, adopts Judge Gilbert’s ruling on the scope of the discovery requests. CSU must respond to Requests for Production Nos. 1 through 4, though CSU need not respond to the portion of Request No. 4 that seeks ‘all communications to or from CSU concerning the certification of such documents by Jamar C. Orr, Esq., during the period of August 1, 2022 to August 1, 2023.’ (Dkt. 40 at 28.)

“As for the deposition, CSU must produce a witness that can address all five topics identified in the subpoena.”

The district court explained that the issue presented before it was much more limited, and stated that under the applicable U.S. law and the federal rules of discovery, Atiku was entitled to the production of documents and testimony that he was seeking from the CSU.
The judge ruled on Atiku’s entitlement to the sought documents, “The court finds that he is. This decision is in line with the underlying purpose of 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to promote judicial assistance to foreign courts and comports with the liberal discovery standards under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which encourage disclosure of potentially relevant information.”

She disclosed that in arriving at its conclusion, the court held that the magistrate court, contrary to Tinubu’s claim, did not give a final ruling, but only a “report and recommendation” subject to de novo review for any objected-to portions.

On Tinubu’s claim that Atiku could not use the academic records in his appeal at the Supreme Court, the district stated that it “cannot and will not speculate as to Nigerian law and procedure. What the court has before it is a sworn affidavit, which President Tinubu did not contest before Judge Gilbert, that the Supreme Court of Nigeria can consider new evidence under ‘exceptional circumstances’.

“In other words, it is undisputed that there is a mechanism by which Atiku could potentially inject the requested discovery into the foreign proceedings. Whether the Supreme Court of Nigeria will ultimately allow Atiku to use the documents, or whether it will consider them in its decision, are not questions for the court to resolve.

“The potential means for Atiku to use the discovery in the foreign proceedings is sufficient, and this court goes too far if it requires Atiku to show that his use must be successful.”

While overruling Tinubu’s objection, the court stated that Atiku “does not just question the authenticity of one diploma, but also questions whether President Tinubu actually attended and received any undergraduate degree from CSU at all, notwithstanding the fact that CSU has stated that President Tinubu did attend and receive a degree on June 22, 1979.

“In other words, while Atiku’s challenge to the election results is tied to the submission of an allegedly fraudulent diploma, he has raised other broader claims in the same proceedings before the Court of Appeal about President Tinubu’s identity and graduation, as well as the authenticity and origin of other CSU documents that were obtained and produced as part of other Nigerian proceedings.”

“Nor should the court’s opinion be read as taking any position on any of the broader claims as to the validity of the election or what the documents and discovery from CSU might or might not show.

“The court simply finds that Mr. Abubakar has cleared the relatively low hurdle of showing that the documents he seeks could be relevant to his claims (either proving them or disproving them) and could potentially be presented to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“For the foregoing reasons, the court overrules President Tinubu’s objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling, and therefore adopts the ruling in full. Atiku’s Application is therefore granted.

“In light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, represented to the court as October 5, 2023, and based on CSU’s representations that it is ready to comply with the discovery requests and produce a witness, the court sets an expedited schedule for completion of discovery.

The Federal Government is hopeful of the organised labour suspending its planned indefinite strike, saying the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) will consider the government’s offers, including a N35,000 pay increase for all “treasury-paid” federal workers.

This was one of the highlights of the hours-long meeting between the Federal Government and the labour unions in Abuja on Sunday.

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu, in his Independence Day speech, announced a N25,000 pay bump which he said would apply to “low-grade” workers only as a means of cushioning the effect of the removal of fuel subsidies.

“NLC and TUC will consider the offers by the Federal Government with a view to suspending the planned strike to allow for further consultations on the implementation of the resolutions above,” a statement by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said.

The virtual meeting was chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with the Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abdulrazak Abdulrahman; and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State also in attendance.

The labour delegation was led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero; Deputy President, TUC; Dr Tommy Etim Okon; NLC General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja; and TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro, among others.

Others present included the information minister, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong; the Minister of State, Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

Also in attendance were the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite; the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan; and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on all citizens to join its “march to freedom”, insisting it would embark on an indefinite strike from Tuesday.

The NLC, in its President Joe Ajaero’s statement early Sunday to commemorate the country’s 63rd Independence anniversary, addressed members of the Nigerian public, saying they would attain victory when they stand as an indivisible unit.

“Together, we can reclaim the greatness that has eluded us for too long. It is time for Nigeria to rise and shine once more as a beacon of hope and prosperity for all its citizens,” Ajaero said.

“Remember, when we stand as one refusing to be divided, we will triumph! We call on all Nigerians to join us on the 3rd day of October around Nigeria to begin our march to freedom through the indefinite nationwide strike.”

The labour leader urged the citizens to mark Independence Day with a renewed sense of purpose.

“Let us acknowledge our past, confront our present challenges, and collectively work towards a brighter future for Nigeria,” he said.

Tragedy struck on Sunday, in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, as a hit-and-run driver killed a 400 level student of the Taraba State University, TSU.

The incident, which occurred on the day Nigeria marked its 63rd independence anniversary, was described as tragic by eyewitnesses.

The student, whose name was given as Joseph Afara, was said to have been on his way to withdraw money in one of the new generation banks located in the Roadblock area of Jalingo metropolis when the vehicle knocked him down.

An eyewitness alleged that the incident was caused by recklessness on the part of the driver.

“The driver in his attempt to gain entrance into the Jalingo Motor Park, made a reckless manoeuvre into the wrong lane, resulting in the head on collision,” he said.

Another eyewitness, who sells goods close to the motor park, also blamed the driver for the untimely death of the student.

The trader, who also craved anonymity, said if the driver had not attempted to manoeuvre his vehicle into a different lane, the accident would not have occurred.

The driver was also reported to have abandoned his vehicle and the student in a pool of blood and took to his heels in order to avoid being lynched by angry youths around the park.

The student, who did not die on the spot, was said to have given up the ghost shortly after he was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, in Jalingo metropolis.

Some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, who also spoke with our reporter, regretted the driver’s action, stating that the leadership of the union will work round the clock to bring him to book.

Confirming the incident, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, who said he was not in the position to speak with journalists, said, “We are actually aware of the accident.”

He added that the driver will definitely be brought to book.