Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the disqualification of President Bola Tinubu from the 2027 presidential election over allegations surrounding an NYSC certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Atiku filed the suit against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and INEC, personally appearing at the court registry on Friday to swear to an affidavit supporting the case.
The former vice president is relying on provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026, particularly the constitutional provision that bars a presidential candidate who presents a forged certificate to INEC from contesting an election.
At the centre of the suit is an NYSC discharge certificate which Atiku alleges was submitted as part of Tinubu’s electoral documents. According to the affidavit, the document carries the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle” rather than “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Atiku is asking the court to determine whether the alleged certificate renders Tinubu ineligible to contest the 2027 election. He is also seeking an order compelling INEC to release certified copies of Tinubu’s Form CF001 and other relevant documents submitted for the 2023 and 2027 elections.
The former vice president said he had earlier requested certified copies of the records from INEC but had not received them, prompting the court action.
Explaining his decision to appear personally at the registry, Atiku said the matter concerned the integrity of Nigeria’s constitutional system and the office of the president. He maintained that the dispute should be settled through evidence and judicial proceedings rather than political exchanges or social media debates.
He also argued that the presidency should not shield anyone from constitutional scrutiny and urged INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by making the relevant electoral records available.
Counsel representing the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.
The APC, however, dismissed the suit as futile. Its National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said Tinubu remained qualified to contest the 2027 election and urged Atiku to focus on preparing for the general election.
Basiru also argued that the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court, describing the latest legal action as an attempt by Atiku to find an alternative route to power.
Separately, ADC chieftain and legal counsel Kalu Agu submitted a petition to the European Commission in Brussels concerning the same allegations.
Agu accused Tinubu of submitting false credentials to INEC and alleged that the president failed to provide details of the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents filed with the electoral body. He asked the European Union to intervene over what he described as a threat to Nigeria’s constitutional order.
The petition was also dismissed by President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, who described the opposition’s move to Europe as a distraction.
The latest legal and diplomatic moves add another layer to the political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Atiku seeking judicial scrutiny of Tinubu’s electoral documents while the APC maintains that the president faces no constitutional impediment to seeking re-election.
