Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking President Bola Tinubu’s disqualification from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
The suit, filed against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is anchored on Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
At the centre of the case is Section 137(1)(j), which bars a person from contesting the presidency if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC.
Atiku, in an affidavit filed in support of the suit, alleged that the NYSC discharge certificate submitted to INEC bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle” instead of “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
He further alleged that the certificate was not obtained by Tinubu but was submitted to INEC in connection with his 2027 presidential bid.
Atiku is also asking the court to compel INEC to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
The former vice-president said he had earlier requested certified true copies of the relevant documents from INEC but was yet to receive them before instituting the action.
Atiku personally appeared at the court registry on Friday to depose to the affidavit, stressing that the matter was too important to be handled casually.
He said the allegations should be determined through evidence before the judiciary rather than political arguments or social media exchanges.
Among the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the allegations are established.
Atiku also urged INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by releasing the relevant electoral documents.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.
