NEWS
Court Grants Atiku Seven Days To Serve Tinubu Through APC In Certificate Forgery Suit
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, permission to serve President Bola Tinubu with court processes through the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a suit challenging the President’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application on Wednesday while ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by Atiku’s counsel, Olanrewaju Omotayo-Ojo, seeking an order for substituted service after efforts to personally serve the President with the originating processes were unsuccessful.
The judge directed that the documents be served on Tinubu through the APC within seven days. The matter has subsequently been adjourned until September 28, 2026, for mention.
The development is the latest procedural step in a politically significant pre-election case instituted by Atiku and the ADC against Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, seeks, among other reliefs, an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
At the heart of the case is an allegation by the plaintiffs concerning a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate allegedly submitted to INEC.
Atiku and the ADC contend that the document was forged and that its alleged submission raises constitutional questions concerning eligibility for the presidency. The allegations remain contested and have not been judicially determined.
The plaintiffs have specifically drawn attention to a certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” with Atiku alleging that the document was presented to INEC as part of Tinubu’s credentials.
“I know that the NYSC certificate is clearly not one obtained by the 1st defendant, as it belongs to one Adekunle.
“The said NYSC certificate, bearing the name Tinubu Bola Adekunle, is herein attached and marked as Exhibit P2,“ Atiku stated in his affidavit.
Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to determine whether the alleged presentation of the certificate contravened the constitutional provisions governing qualification and disqualification of presidential candidates, and whether the alleged conduct warrants the disqualification of Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election.
The case had previously encountered a procedural hurdle over service of the originating summons on President Tinubu.
At an earlier proceeding, the plaintiffs informed the court that they had been unable to personally serve the President and therefore required judicial permission to employ substituted service. That hurdle was addressed on Wednesday when Justice Ekwo granted the application, effectively allowing the plaintiffs to serve the processes through the President’s political party.
However, the substantive allegations are being strongly contested by Tinubu and the APC, who have filed counter-affidavits and preliminary objections seeking the dismissal of the case.
In their joint response, the President and APC denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC in connection with either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections. They also disputed the plaintiffs’ claim concerning the INEC form allegedly used in the submission of the President’s personal particulars.
The defendants further argued that the NYSC has not disclaimed issuing the discharge certificate attributed to Tinubu and maintained that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a legal basis for the action.
In a written address filed in support of their objections, counsel for Tinubu and the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, argued that an allegation of forgery amounts to a criminal allegation and must therefore meet the applicable evidentiary standard.
Olujinmi said it is a settled principle that where the authenticity of a certificate is challenged, evidence from the institution alleged to have issued the document is material to establishing that it did not issue it.
He argued that Atiku and the ADC had not produced evidence from the NYSC Directorate disclaiming the issuance of the certificate in question.
The senior lawyer also challenged the legal competence of the action, describing it as “incompetent, being a pre-election matter,” while contending that the plaintiffs lacked the “locus standi” to challenge Tinubu’s candidacy on the basis relied upon in the suit.
The defence further maintained that the case was statute-barred and questioned whether Atiku and the ADC had complied with the applicable legal requirements for instituting a pre-election matter.
INEC has also mounted its own challenge to the suit. In its preliminary objection, the electoral commission questioned the competence of the action on grounds including alleged statute-bar, lack of locus standi, absence of a reasonable cause of action and alleged abuse of court process.
INEC also argued that the plaintiffs failed to comply with the mandatory written-deposition requirement contained in the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions (Amendment) 2026. The commission further challenged aspects of the reliefs sought by Atiku and the ADC and urged the court to dismiss the case.
The legal battle therefore now moves beyond the immediate question of service, with the parties set to return to court on September 28. At that stage, the court is expected to continue dealing with the competing procedural and substantive issues raised by the plaintiffs, Tinubu, APC and INEC.
For now, Wednesday’s ruling does not amount to a determination of whether the certificate in question was forged, whether Tinubu violated any constitutional provision, or whether he should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election. It was specifically an order permitting substituted service of the court processes through the APC.