Court orders Atiku to serve Tinubu within 7 days in suitability case – THIS UPDATE

By Victor Osula, Abuja

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday ordered former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to serve President Bola Tinubu with his suit challenging the president’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election through the All Progressives Congress (APC) within seven days.

Justice Inyang Ekwo issued the order after granting, through his political party, the request for substitute service of court proceedings on Tinubu.

The order followed a motion moved by Atiku’s lawyer, Olanrewaju Omotayo-Ojo, who appeared in place of Silas Onu, who is said to be grieving.

The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was filed by Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with the party joining as the second plaintiff.

Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are listed as the first, second and third defendants respectively.

The case centers on allegations regarding a NYSC discharge certificate that Atiku alleges Tinubu submitted to INEC in relation to his qualification to contest the presidential election.

In a 25-paragraph affidavit personally filed in support of the suit, Atiku said the certificate submitted by Tinubu bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”.

Atiku argued that the document did not belong to the President and was presented to INEC as an authentic certificate.

“I understand that the NYSC certificate is clearly not the one obtained by the first defendant, as it belongs to one Adekunle,” Atiku said in the affidavit.

He further stated that the certificate had been used by Tinubu since 1999 when he contested the Lagos State governorship election.

Atiku asks the court to determine whether the alleged submission of a forged certificate violates section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to INEC and an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential elections.

Tinubu’s legal team has challenged the jurisdiction of the action, while INEC has also initiated processes urging the court to dismiss the suit.

Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, in a counter-affidavit filed on behalf of Tinubu, argued that the action was time barred. He argued that the relevant documents had been submitted to INEC before August 1 and that the 14-day period stipulated for such dispute had expired.

Olujinmi also challenged Atiku’s locus standi, arguing that as a member of the ADC, he had no legal right to challenge the documents submitted by the APC candidate.

Another senior lawyer of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun, also initiated trials identifying himself as Tinubu’s lawyer.

He filed a preliminary objection and counter-affidavit requesting that the case be dismissed, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of the judicial process.

In a September 10 letter to the court’s chief deputy registrar, Olanipekun said Tinubu had instructed him to lead a team of lawyers to defend his interests in the case.

He complained that the President had not been notified of the original trials even though the case had been publicized.

Olanipekun said a member of his legal team, Prince Omosanya Popoola, SAN, had appeared in court on September 1 on the instructions of Tinubu and sought to collect the cases filed by the plaintiffs.

He said the plaintiff’s lawyer opposed the request and that Tinubu remained the only party still to be served.

The senior lawyer then requested the court to provide the notification copy or certified true copies of the original processes to enable the President to respond to the suit.

The lawsuit is part of the renewed legal environment surrounding the qualification of presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku and the ADC are invoking the constitutional provisions regarding the submission of forged certificates to seek Tinubu’s disqualification.

However, the appellants also asked to amend parts of their case after discovering an error in the description of the INEC form to which the disputed documents were allegedly attached.

They initially referred to the document as Form CF001 but are looking to change the reference to Form EC9.

The court had already set September 28 for the hearing on the merits of the case.

With Wednesday’s ruling, the immediate service controversy has been resolved, as Atiku is now required to serve Tinubu through the APC within seven days.