The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu be served within seven days with a suit seeking his disqualification from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
Justice Inyang Ekwo made the order on Wednesday after granting an application for substituted service of the originating processes on Tinubu through his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The application was moved by counsel to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Mr Olanrewaju Omotayo-Ojo, who appeared in place of Mr Silas Onu, said to be bereaved.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was filed by Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with the ADC as the second plaintiff.
Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are listed as the first to third defendants respectively.
Atiku, in a 25-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the case, alleged that Tinubu submitted a purportedly forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC.
He claimed the certificate bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, alleging that the document does not belong to the President and was presented to INEC as genuine.
Atiku is asking the court to determine whether the alleged submission of the certificate amounts to a breach of Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that Tinubu presented a forged certificate to INEC when he contested the Lagos State governorship election in 1999.
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They further want an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election.
The allegations have not been determined by the court.
Meanwhile, INEC has filed processes challenging the competence of the suit and asking the court to dismiss it.
Tinubu’s legal representation has also become a subject of contention, with Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, and Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, separately filing processes on behalf of the President.
Olujinmi argued that the suit was statute-barred, contending that the period prescribed for challenging the documents had elapsed. He also questioned Atiku’s legal standing to challenge the documents submitted by an APC candidate.
Olanipekun, in a separate preliminary objection and counter-affidavit, also urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of court process.
In a September 10 letter to the Deputy Chief Registrar, Olanipekun said he had been briefed by Tinubu to lead a team of lawyers to defend him in the case.
He also complained that the President had not been served with the originating processes and requested copies of the documents to enable him respond to the suit.
The court had earlier fixed September 28 for further proceedings in the matter.
The plaintiffs have also sought permission to amend their originating processes following what they described as errors in the description of an INEC form attached to their case. Reports on the application identify the correction as changing the reference from Form CF001 to Form EC9A.
The substantive issues, including the allegation concerning the NYSC certificate and the objections raised by the defendants, remain before the court for determination.
