In a development that signals a potentially contentious confrontation which may overshadow the 2027 electoral contest in Nigeria, an American law firm has initiated an extensive legal battle aimed at revoking President Bola Tinubu’s sole academic credential. The Chicago-based Options Law Group, P.C. has prepared what an insider referred to as “a thermonuclear lawsuit” to compel Chicago State University to annul a diploma it conferred upon Mr. Tinubu in 1979, alleging serious forgery involved in the acquisition of the qualification.
The firm indicated that it opted for a court battle after the CSU administrators rejected a series of demand letters sent between March and April 2025, firmly asserting that it was no longer feasible for the institution to uphold Mr. Tinubu’s certificate after it was established that the high school records he submitted for enrollment at the Illinois university were falsified.
“If we do not receive a response from you or your general counsel by the conclusion of fourteen (14) days, all legal rights will be pursued, including, but not limited to, legal actions deemed necessary in accordance with state and federal regulations,” the firm cautioned in a letter dated April 1, 2025, addressed to the school, with copies sent to various authorities, including the office of the attorney general of Illinois.
The new front in this legal battle, which emerged two years after the Nigerian leader successfully navigated a disparaging legal challenge regarding his graduation status from the institution as claimed in his presidential candidacy application in 2023, was initiated by the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, a civic organization based in Aba, Nigeria.
“Our client has provided evidence that a reasonable individual could conclude that Bola A. Tinubu, a former student of Chicago State University, class of 1979, misrepresented significant and misleading information on his admission application to CSU in 1977,” the school stated in a separate correspondence to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “As a result of Tinubu’s misrepresentations, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in 1979.”
The firm is now set to approach both federal and state courts for a comprehensive mandamus, which is a judicial order compelling an entity to fulfill a specific obligation. In this case, it pertains to the cancellation of Mr. Tinubu’s certificate by the university’s administrators.
In 2023, the school affirmed under oath that it conferred a degree in business and administration to Mr. Tinubu. However, it was unable to verify whether the certificate issued to Mr. Tinubu upon his graduation corresponded with the document he submitted to Nigeria’s electoral office to satisfy eligibility requirements.
Nevertheless, the documents provided by the CSU in response to a federal judge’s subpoena indicated that Mr. Tinubu was admitted to the institution after presenting a certification he allegedly obtained from Government College, Lagos, in 1970. However, this high school did not exist until 1974, and it did not produce any graduates for several years thereafter.
The further inquiries raised by Mr. Tinubu’s records from CSU led the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, represented by Options Law Group, to seek the outright revocation of the president’s bachelor’s degree, which is the sole academic qualification he has presented. He did not provide any credentials from his primary or secondary education to the electoral office, INEC. The centre’s director, Kalu Kalu Agu, is affiliated with Atiku Abubakar—Mr. Tinubu’s principal political rival, against whom the Nigerian leader triumphed in the 2023 presidential elections.
Mr. Kalu, a legal professional, has long positioned himself as a prominent advocate for Mr. Abubakar in both media and political forums. He has also represented Mr. Abubakar’s PDP in numerous legal cases in the past. Nonetheless, he has vehemently denied that Mr. Abubakar financed his retention of Options Law Group for the dispute regarding Mr. Tinubu’s certificate, which, if successful, could prevent the president from pursuing reelection.
A representative for Mr. Abubakar did not provide an immediate response regarding whether the former vice-president had offered financial or material assistance to Mr. Kalu or if he had prior knowledge of attempts to contest Mr. Tinubu’s certificate in U.S. courts.
Sources from the presidency indicated over the weekend that Mr. Tinubu was already informed of these actions and had expressed significant concern.
However, the president’s chief legal advisor promptly dismissed any possibility of the case proceeding in the U.S. court, asserting that it had already been resolved and any efforts to revive it would be considered frivolous.
“The U.S. judicial system does not tolerate frivolous pursuits,” declared the president’s attorney, Oluwole Afolabi. “This issue has been litigated exhaustively, and Nigerians have already moved on.”
“President Bola Tinubu is not preoccupied with nuisance lawsuits either. He is focused on fulfilling his agenda to create a safe and secure social and economic future for the citizens of Nigeria,” added Mr. Afolabi, a senior advocate of Nigeria.
Nevertheless, an individual acquainted with the law firm’s perspective mentioned that there are substantial case laws regarding degree revocation across various U.S. jurisdictions. Records indicate that American institutions have a precedent of expelling students and revoking degrees from individuals found to have falsified documents submitted during the application process for their degrees.
In April, the University of Missouri expelled Mercy Ojedeji after it was discovered that he had forged his credentials, which included transcripts, letters of recommendation, and an English language test to gain admission to a PhD program in Chemistry. His student visa, along with a $49,000 scholarship and other benefits, were also revoked.
In 1987, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that a university has the authority to revoke a degree from any student “on the grounds of fraud in its procurement,” as established in the case of Crook v. Baker. The court stated that permitting a student to present a fraudulently obtained degree would undermine the trust that the public has in such institutions and their awards.
In a separate but related case, Trauth v. K.E. in 2020, the Texas Court of Appeals ruled that a university should revoke a degree if there are facts indicating “academic dishonesty.” In all instances, the court required that students be granted fair hearings to defend themselves prior to the rescission of their degrees.
For many years, Mr. Tinubu’s political career has been plagued by accusations of academic fraud, culminating in 2023 when the Chicago university denied having issued the certificate that the Nigerian leader submitted to the electoral body, INEC, during the pre-election process.
While the school confirmed that Mr. Tinubu was an alumnus, CSU registrar Caleb Westberg stated in his deposition that the institution could not verify the issuance of the disputed certificate presented to INEC. However, unlike the 2023 dispute, which was directly contested by Mr. Abubakar, the civic group’s contention is no longer focused on whether the Nigerian leader forged the CSU certificate, but rather on the high school qualification he submitted to qualify for university admission.
The Nigerian Constitution specifies that an individual is eligible to serve as president if “he has received an education up to at least the school certificate level or its equivalent.”
Whereas Mr. Tinubu asserted that he acquired a high school qualification from Government College, Lagos, he did not provide this document to INEC in order to pursue his candidacy. Instead, he only submitted his degree from CSU as the sole qualification he possessed to meet the constitutional eligibility criteria.
Nevertheless, he submitted a sworn statement indicating that his primary and high school records were lost following a military junta’s incursion into his Lagos residence during the 1990s. At that time, he was in exile as a political dissident, and it remains uncertain whether he filed a police report at the time regarding the theft.
The Nigerian Supreme Court avoided addressing significant matters concerning the certificate when they emerged during Mr. Abubakar’s lawsuit related to the 2023 presidential election. However, the court may be compelled to revisit this issue if the lawsuit becomes a focal point in the 2027 campaign while progressing through the U.S. judicial system.
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