The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an application by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to serve court processes on President Bola Tinubu through the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application on Wednesday while ruling on an ex parte motion filed by Atiku’s counsel, O.T. Omotayo-Ojo, seeking an order for substituted service.

Atiku and the ADC are seeking the disqualification of Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election over allegations concerning an allegedly forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, lists Tinubu, the APC and INEC as the first to third defendants respectively.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to compel INEC to remove the names of Tinubu and the APC from the list of candidates and political parties for the 2027 presidential election.

Moving the application, Omotayo-Ojo told the court that the plaintiffs had been unable to personally serve Tinubu with the originating summons and other court processes.

He therefore asked the court to permit the documents to be served on the President through the APC.

Justice Ekwo granted the application and, following an undertaking by Omotayo-Ojo that the plaintiffs would effect service within seven days, ordered that the processes be served within the stipulated period.

The judge subsequently adjourned the suit until September 28 for mention.

Meanwhile, Tinubu, the APC and INEC have filed separate responses challenging the competence of the suit and urging the court to dismiss it.

In a joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, Tinubu and the APC denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections.

They also denied submitting Form CF001 to INEC for either election as alleged by the plaintiffs.

Through the APC Director of Legal Services, Sanusi Samaila, the defendants argued that the NYSC had never denied issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu at the end of his service.

In a written address accompanying their preliminary objection, counsel to Tinubu and the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, argued that an allegation of forgery constitutes a criminal allegation that must be proved beyond reasonable doubt under Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act.

Olujinmi argued that the established legal requirement for proving that a certificate was forged includes a disclaimer from the institution alleged to have issued it.

He contended that Atiku and the ADC had not produced evidence from the NYSC disclaiming the issuance of the discharge certificate to Tinubu.

The lawyer also argued that the suit was incompetent as a pre-election matter and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to challenge Tinubu’s candidacy on the platform of the APC.

INEC, in its own preliminary objection filed on September 7 through its counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, also challenged the competence of the suit on grounds including statute-bar, lack of locus standi, absence of a reasonable cause of action and alleged abuse of court process.

The commission further argued that the plaintiffs failed to comply with the mandatory written deposition requirement under Paragraph 7(1) of the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions (Amendment) 2026.

INEC also challenged the propriety of some of the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs and urged the court to dismiss the suit.