Court orders service of Atiku’s suit challenging Tinubu’s 2027 eligibility

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that President Bola Tinubu be served within seven days with a suit seeking to disqualify him from contesting the 2027 presidential election over allegations concerning a certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

 

Justice Inyang Ekwo made the order on Wednesday, approving substituted service through Tinubu’s political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

 

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was filed by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The ADC is the second plaintiff, while Tinubu, the APC and INEC are listed as the first to third defendants.

 

Atiku, in an affidavit supporting the suit, alleged that Tinubu submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, discharge certificate to INEC.

 

He specifically challenged a certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” alleging that it did not belong to the President.

 

“I know that the NYSC certificate is clearly not one obtained by the 1st defendant, as it belongs to one Adekunle,” Atiku stated.

 

He alleged that the certificate had been used by Tinubu since his 1999 Lagos State governorship bid and asked the court to determine whether the alleged submission breached constitutional provisions governing eligibility for the presidency.

 

Among other reliefs, the plaintiffs are seeking an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election over the alleged submission of the certificate.

 

The court had earlier fixed September 28 for the commencement of the substantive hearing.

 

However, INEC has filed processes challenging the competence of the suit and urged the court to dismiss it.

 

Meanwhile, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Akin Olujinmi and Chief Wole Olanipekun, have separately filed processes purporting to represent Tinubu.

 

Both lawyers have challenged the competence of Atiku’s case and his legal standing to challenge the credentials submitted by Tinubu, relying partly on Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2026.

 

Olujinmi argued in a counter-affidavit that the case was statute-barred because the documents were submitted to INEC before August 1 and the 14-day period provided for such litigation had expired.

 

He also argued that Atiku, as a member of the ADC, lacked the legal right to challenge documents submitted by the APC candidate.

 

Olanipekun, who also identified himself as Tinubu’s counsel, filed a preliminary objection and counter-affidavit seeking dismissal of the suit on grounds that it was incompetent and an abuse of court process.

 

In a September 10 letter to the court’s Deputy Chief Registrar, Olanipekun said Tinubu had instructed him to lead a legal team to defend the President in the matter.

 

He also complained that Tinubu had not been personally served with the originating processes and requested copies of the documents to enable the President to respond.

 

The plaintiffs have meanwhile applied to amend parts of their suit, including correcting the name of the INEC form to which the alleged certificate was attached, from Form CF001 to Form EC9.

 

The allegations remain subject to determination by the court, while the defendants’ preliminary objections challenge whether the suit can proceed.