Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the disqualification of President Bola Tinubu from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate.
In a separate development, a legal counsel and chieftain of the ADC, Kalu Agu, petitioned the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, over what he described as the alleged submission of a forged certificate by Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Both actions took place on Friday, with Atiku personally appearing at the Federal High Court registry in Abuja 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 to be elected 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 the President’s name, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The plaintiffs further alleged that Tinubu did not obtain the certificate and that the 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 why he personally appeared at the court registry, Atiku said the matter was too important to be handled casually.
“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 stressed that the matter should be resolved through evidence before the judiciary 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 is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the allegations are established.
Atiku argued that the authenticity of certificates should be subject to the same standard applicable to every Nigerian.
“The presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny,” he said.
He also urged INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by producing the relevant electoral records.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.
However, the APC dismissed the suit as an exercise in futility and urged Atiku to prepare for the 2027 election.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, said Atiku should focus on the election rather than seeking what he described as a shortcut to power.
“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 said.
He added that Atiku had little to offer Nigerians and would be rejected at the polls, describing the legal action as an attempt to avoid the electoral contest.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, Agu submitted his petition to the European Commission, asking the European Union to intervene over what he described as an alleged subversion of Nigeria’s constitutional order.
A video shared on X on Friday by Paul Ibe, Atiku’s media aide, showed Agu submitting the petition.
Agu alleged that Tinubu presented false academic credentials to INEC as part of the constitutional requirements for the 2027 election. He also alleged that the President failed to disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents submitted to the electoral commission.
According to Agu, the alleged submission of forged certificates contravenes Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 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, the 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 on Friday.
