By Sunday Ameh
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, permission to serve President Bola Tinubu with court documents through his political party, the All Progressives Congress.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application on Wednesday while ruling on an ex-parte application filed by Atiku and the ADC in a suit seeking to challenge Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Atiku’s lawyer, Omotayo Ojo, who appeared for Silas Onu, told the court that the plaintiffs would serve the documents within seven days.
Justice Ekwo consequently ordered that the service be completed within seven days and adjourned the case until September 28 for mention.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, has Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission as defendants.
The case includes allegations concerning the documents submitted to INEC in relation to Tinubu’s eligibility for the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
However, Tinubu and the APC have opposed the suit, asking the court to dismiss it on grounds including alleged incompetence and lack of legal standing by the plaintiffs.
In a joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, they denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC and said the National Youth Service Corps had never disclaimed the discharge certificate issued to Tinubu.
Their lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, argued that allegations of forgery, being criminal allegations, must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
He also maintained that the plaintiffs had not produced evidence from the institution allegedly responsible for issuing the disputed document to establish that it was forged.
INEC, in its own preliminary objection, also challenged the competence of the suit, citing issues including statute-bar, lack of locus standi, absence of a reasonable cause of action and alleged abuse of court process.
The commission further argued that the plaintiffs failed to comply with certain requirements under the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions (Amendment) 2026.
The matter has been adjourned until September 28 for further proceedings.
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