Court Orders Atiku to Serve Tinubu Through APC in 2027 Eligibility Suit

The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar permission to serve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with court papers in a suit challenging Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election. The court directed that the documents be served through the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu’s political party, within seven days.

The ruling was delivered on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, by Justice Inyang Ekwo after Atiku’s legal team applied for substituted service. The application was moved by Olanrewaju Omotayo-Ojo on behalf of Atiku’s counsel, Silas Onu.

The case, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was instituted by Atiku, who is identified in the proceedings as a presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with the ADC joined as the second plaintiff. Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are listed as the first, second and third defendants respectively.

At the centre of the litigation is an allegation by Atiku that Tinubu submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to INEC. In a 25-paragraph affidavit personally sworn to by Atiku, he alleged that the certificate bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, rather than the name by which the President is known.

Atiku further alleged that the document was presented to INEC as genuine and claimed that it had been used since Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship bid. The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the alleged submission of the certificate violates relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026.

Among the reliefs being sought is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election on the basis of the alleged certificate issue. These are claims being contested in court and have not been established by a final judicial determination.

The legal battle has already generated opposition from Tinubu and the APC. In processes filed before the court, they denied that any forged certificate was submitted to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections. The APC also argued that the NYSC had not disowned the certificate attributed to Tinubu.

Tinubu’s legal representatives have also challenged the competence of Atiku’s case and questioned his legal standing to contest matters relating to the APC’s nomination process. One of the objections raised is that the suit was filed outside the statutory period applicable to certain pre-election matters.

The dispute over service of the court documents had previously delayed proceedings. Reports from the earlier hearing indicated that Tinubu had not personally been served with the originating processes, while his lawyers had appeared in court and sought access to the documents. The new order provides an alternative route by directing service through the APC.

The Federal High Court had earlier fixed September 28, 2026, for the commencement of substantive proceedings in the case. With the latest order, attention now shifts to whether the originating processes will be served within the seven-day period and how Tinubu, the APC and INEC will respond as the court considers the competing legal arguments.