Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has sued President Bola Tinubu at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking his disqualification from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate.
Separately, ADC chieftain and legal counsel Kalu Agu petitioned the European Commission in Brussels, alleging that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The two actions were initiated on Friday, with Atiku personally appearing at the Federal High Court registry to depose to an affidavit supporting the suit against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and INEC.
The suit relies 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 provides that a person is not qualified for election as president if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC.
Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election over the allegation that he submitted a forged NYSC certificate in connection with his candidacy.
In his affidavit, Atiku alleged that the NYSC discharge certificate submitted to INEC bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle” rather than “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The plaintiffs further alleged that Tinubu did not obtain the certificate and that the disputed document was submitted in connection with the 2027 presidential election.
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 previously requested Certified True Copies of the relevant documents from INEC but had not received them before filing the suit.
Explaining his decision to appear personally at the court registry, Atiku said the case concerned fundamental constitutional issues.
“I came here personally because the issues before the court go to the heart of our Constitution and the integrity of the office of President.
“I have therefore put my name, my signature and my oath behind the facts we are presenting to the court. Now it is President Tinubu’s turn to answer them,” he said.
Atiku said the matter should be resolved through evidence and judicial proceedings rather than political arguments or social media exchanges.
“We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court.
“We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate also questioned whether the names on the disputed certificate could legitimately be attributed to Tinubu.
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 said the authenticity of certificates submitted by presidential candidates should be subject to the same constitutional standard applicable to other Nigerians.
“The presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny,” he said.
He also urged INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by producing the requested electoral records.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.
APC Rejects Suit
The APC dismissed the lawsuit as an exercise in futility and urged Atiku to prepare for the 2027 election instead.
The party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said Tinubu was qualified to contest and argued that the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court.
“Atiku should go and brace for another defeat in the general election. The President is qualified to contest the election; there is nothing disqualifying him, and the matter has been settled by the Supreme Court,” Basiru told Saturday PUNCH.
He accused Atiku of seeking a shortcut to power and said the former vice president should instead campaign for the election.
“Atiku has nothing to offer Nigerians, and he knows that he will be rejected at the poll. That is why he is looking for a shortcut. But there’s no shortcut to power,” Basiru said.
ADC Chieftain Petitions EU
Meanwhile, Agu submitted a separate petition against Tinubu to the European Commission in Brussels.
A video shared on X by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, showed Agu submitting the petition on Friday.
Agu alleged that Tinubu presented false academic credentials to INEC as part of the constitutional requirements for the 2027 election.
He also alleged that Tinubu failed to disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents submitted to INEC.
Agu argued that the alleged submission of forged certificates contravened Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution.
“This is in flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly Section 137(1)(j), which says that if you have presented a forged certificate to INEC, you will not be qualified to run for election,” he said.
However, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, dismissed the EU petition as an opposition distraction.
“The opposition is on a wild goose chase in Europe. They would do everything possible to distract and avoid answering the very one question: What would you do differently from this government?” Bwala wrote on X.
The legal challenge and EU petition add a new dimension to the political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the allegations against Tinubu now set to face scrutiny through the legal and political processes.
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