The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar a seven-day ultimatum to ensure President Bola Tinubu is served with the legal suit seeking to halt his participation in the 2027 presidential election. The legal challenge, which also features the African Democratic Congress as a co-plaintiff, centers on allegations that the President submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Zoyols News gathered that Justice Inyang Ekwo issued the directive after approving an application for substituted service. This path became necessary because the legal team had difficulties reaching the President personally. Consequently, the court ordered that the originating processes be channeled through the All Progressives Congress. Legal representatives appearing in court assured the bench that the directive would be met within the stipulated timeframe, prompting the judge to set September 28 for the next mention of the case.
The legal action, officially marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, lists President Tinubu, the ruling party, and the electoral umpire as the first through third defendants. Atiku personally swore to a detailed twenty-five-paragraph affidavit backing the suit, maintaining that false information was supplied via the electoral commission’s forms. According to the opposition figure, the service corps certificate attached to the candidate’s documentation carries the name Tinubu Bola Adekunle, which he contends belongs to an entirely different individual rather than the sitting president.
Furthermore, the documentation forms the core of an argument that the same credential has been in circulation since the 1999 gubernatorial race in Lagos State. Reports understands that the plaintiffs want the judiciary to interpret relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution and the electoral laws to determine whether presenting disputed credentials disqualifies a candidate from running for the highest office. They are specifically urging the court to bar both the President and his party from taking part in the upcoming 2027 polls.
Meanwhile, defense teams and the electoral commission have kicked against the suit, filing preliminary objections to knock it out entirely. Legal counsels representing the respondents argue that the suit lacks competence, is statute-barred, and that the plaintiffs have no legal standing to query internal party submissions, urging the court to throw out the case.
