Court sets October 13 for Atiku’s bid to amend Tinubu NYSC certificate suit

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 13, 2026, to hear an application by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) seeking to amend their suit against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Monday after lawyers representing the parties informed the court that some processes relating to the application needed to be regularised.

Atiku and the ADC are seeking to amend the originating summons in the suit, which also has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a defendant. The case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026.

Counsel to Atiku and the ADC, Joseph Silas, told the court that he had received responses from the other defendants but said he was yet to receive President Tinubu’s counter-affidavit on the application.

However, Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, informed the court that the counter-affidavit had been served on the plaintiffs’ counsel on September 24 and that the service had been acknowledged. Justice Ekwo also confirmed the proof of service.

The substantive suit, filed by Atiku and the ADC in August, challenges Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election. One of the issues raised by the plaintiffs concerns an alleged discrepancy involving a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate submitted to INEC. The allegations remain subject to determination by the court.

Justice Ekwo subsequently adjourned the matter until October 13 for hearing of the motion seeking to amend the originating summons.

Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Tinubu, however, said the president’s counter affidavit was served on the plaintiffs on September 24. Ekwo also confirmed the proof of service filed by the president’s legal team.

The court subsequently adjourned the matter until October 13 for hearing of the application.

Atiku and the ADC had filed the main suit seeking the disqualification of Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election over the president’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

They alleged that the APC submitted a forged NYSC certificate to INEC and asked the court to order the electoral commission to remove Tinubu and the APC from the list of candidates and parties for the election.

Tinubu and the APC have denied the allegation and asked the court to dismiss the suit.

On September 10, Atiku and the ADC filed the application seeking leave to amend their originating summons and have the proposed amended process deemed properly filed.

They said they discovered errors in the original suit, including referring to an INEC form as Form CF001 instead of Form EC9A.

They also said the amendment was necessary to set out the particulars of the alleged fraud, include a written deposition by Atiku and attach clearer copies of exhibits that were unavailable when the suit was filed.

Tinubu opposed the application, arguing that the proposed amendments went beyond correcting errors and would introduce new reliefs, documents and facts into the case.

The president’s legal team also argued that the substantive suit was statute-barred, contending that the cause of action arose when Tinubu’s name was submitted to INEC on July 11, while the suit was filed on August 14.

INEC also opposed the amendment, arguing that it would introduce a new cause of action and seek to cure defects in the original suit after the constitutional deadline for filing pre-election cases had expired.

The commission’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the substantive suit is also pending before the court.

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