The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 28 for further proceedings in a suit seeking to prevent President Bola Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election over allegations of certificate forgery.
The suit was filed by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, with the ADC joined as the second plaintiff.
President Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were listed as the first to third defendants respectively.
Atiku, in a 25-paragraph affidavit personally sworn in support of the case, alleged that Tinubu submitted a purportedly forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to INEC as part of the documents used to establish his eligibility to contest the 2023 presidential election.
According to Atiku, the certificate submitted to INEC carries the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” which he argued does not correspond with President Tinubu’s actual name.
The former vice president alleged that the document was therefore not genuinely obtained by Tinubu and was instead being presented to INEC as an authentic certificate.
Atiku further told the court that the disputed NYSC certificate remains in INEC’s custody and was attached to his affidavit as Exhibit P2.
He stated:
“I know that the NYSC certificate is clearly not one obtained by the 1st defendant, as it belongs to one Adekunle.”
He also alleged that Tinubu provided false information about himself in Form CF0001, which was submitted to INEC in connection with his presidential qualification.
The plaintiffs are consequently asking the court to consider the allegations and determine whether Tinubu should be allowed to seek re-election in 2027.
The case has generated political interest as it involves a sitting president and could potentially affect the legal and political landscape ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
However, the allegations contained in Atiku’s court filing remain claims before the court and have not been established as fact. The matter is expected to return for further proceedings on September 28, when the court will continue hearing the suit.
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