The late human rights activist Gani Fawehinmi gave Atiku Abubakar the idea to look into President Bola Tinubu's academic background.

Due to Tinubu's academic standing at Chicago State University (CSU), Atiku had sued him.

"I must thank our lawyers, both here and abroad, for helping us bring clarity to this issue that has dragged on for about half a century," he said Thursday at a global press conference.

“The late human right Gani Fawehinmi has vindicated us. Now he can truly rest in peace, knowing that the journey he started 23 years ago is on course.”

Fawehinmi filed a court order on October 7, 1999, at the Federal High Court in Lagos, asking the court to order security personnel to look into criminal allegations he had made against Tinubu, the then-governor of Lagos State.

Tinubu had made the claim of loss of certificates in his filings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1999.

He, however, stated in 1999 that he attended St. Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, from 1958 to 1964 and Government College, Ibadan (GCI) from 1965 to 1968 before proceeding to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971 and the University of Chicago.