INEC Rejects Atiku’s Bid to Amend Tinubu NYSC Certificate Suit

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has opposed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s attempt to amend his lawsuit seeking the disqualification of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

The electoral commission, in a counter-affidavit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, asked the court to dismiss Atiku’s case, describing it as an abuse of judicial process and arguing that the former vice-president lacks the legal standing to institute the action. INEC also maintained that the suit failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action.

The legal battle is contained in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, filed by Atiku and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and INEC. The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential contest over the alleged presentation of a forged NYSC certificate.

Atiku and the ADC subsequently applied for permission to amend their originating summons. They told the court that they discovered errors in the description of some INEC documents attached to their affidavit and sought to correct the nomenclature from Form CF001 to the current Form EC9A.

The plaintiffs also want to provide fuller particulars of the alleged fraud, include a written deposition by Atiku and attach clearer copies of exhibits that they said were not available when the original suit was filed. They argued that the proposed amendments were necessary to present their case more clearly and in the interest of justice.

At the centre of the dispute is an NYSC discharge certificate which Atiku alleges was submitted to INEC in Tinubu’s name but bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”. Atiku maintains that the document is not Tinubu’s certificate and alleges that it was presented to the electoral commission as genuine. These allegations remain contested and have not been established by a court.

INEC, however, said it does not manufacture, obtain or authenticate the personal certificates submitted by candidates or political parties. The commission explained that its constitutional and statutory responsibility is to receive documents submitted through the prescribed nomination process and deal with them in accordance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and relevant regulations and guidelines.

The electoral body further argued that merely receiving a document from a candidate does not amount to a judicial or administrative determination by INEC that every statement or credential contained in that document is authentic. It maintained that an allegation of forgery must be supported by proof rather than relying solely on the fact that a document was submitted.

Tinubu and the APC have also mounted a strong challenge to the suit. In their joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, they denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections. They also denied submitting Form CF001 as alleged and maintained that the NYSC had never disclaimed issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu.

Counsel to Tinubu and the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, argued that forgery is a criminal allegation that must be established to the required standard of proof. He contended that Atiku and the ADC had not produced evidence from the NYSC Directorate disclaiming the issuance of the disputed certificate, and urged the court to dismiss the action as incompetent.

The case has now added another layer to the increasingly contentious legal battle over Tinubu’s eligibility ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Justice Inyang Ekwo has fixed September 28 for further proceedings, when the court is expected to deal with the issues surrounding Atiku’s proposed amendment and the objections raised by the defendants. Until the court rules, the allegations concerning the NYSC certificate remain allegations and should not be treated as established facts.