Alleged Certificate Forgery: Court to Rule on Atiku’s Bid to Amend Tinubu Suit November 20

A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 20 to rule on an application by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar seeking permission to amend his suit challenging President Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to participate in the 2027 presidential election.

Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo fixed the date on Tuesday after hearing arguments from Atiku’s legal team and lawyers representing Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is seeking to amend his originating summons to include additional allegations and evidence in the certificate forgery case.

His lawyer, Joseph Onu, urged the court to grant the application, arguing that the proposed amendments were necessary to correct errors in the original suit and present further evidence in support of the allegations against Tinubu and the APC.

Atiku and the ADC filed the application on September 10, asking the court to allow them to amend their originating summons and deem the proposed amended processes as properly filed.

Among the corrections they sought was the replacement of a reference to an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) form as Form CF001 with Form EC9A.

They also said the amendments would provide details of the alleged fraud, incorporate a written deposition by Atiku and attach clearer copies of exhibits that were unavailable when the original suit was filed.

However, Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed the application, arguing that the parties had already joined issues in the case.

Olanipekun maintained that Atiku should not be allowed to alter his claims at this stage of the proceedings.

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Akin Olujimi, SAN, who represented the APC, also urged the court to reject the application.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alex Izinyon, similarly opposed the request, asking Justice Ekwo to dismiss the application and proceed to the substantive suit.

After listening to the arguments from the parties, the judge fixed November 20 to deliver his ruling on whether the amendments would be allowed.

Dispute Over Tinubu’s NYSC Certificate

Atiku and the ADC instituted the substantive suit seeking to prevent Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election over allegations concerning the President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to INEC.

They alleged that the certificate submitted to the electoral commission was forged and asked the court to direct INEC to remove Tinubu and the APC from the list of candidates and political parties for the election.

Their complaint centres on the name “Bola Adekunle” appearing on the NYSC discharge certificate attributed to Tinubu.

Tinubu and the APC have denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the suit.

The President also opposed the proposed amendments, arguing that they went beyond correcting errors and would introduce new reliefs, documents and facts into the proceedings.

His legal team further argued that the substantive suit was statute-barred, contending that the cause of action arose when Tinubu’s name was submitted to INEC on July 11, while Atiku and the ADC filed their suit on August 14.

INEC also opposed the application, arguing that the proposed amendments would introduce a new cause of action and attempt to remedy defects in the original suit after the constitutional deadline for filing pre-election cases had expired.

The court’s November 20 ruling will determine whether Atiku and the ADC can proceed with the proposed amendments to their case against Tinubu and the APC.