Atiku Seeks Court’s Permission To Amend Suit Against Tinubu, APC

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and his party have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to amend their suit seeking to disqualify President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 2027 presidential election.

The application was filed in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, in which Atiku and the ADC challenged the alleged submission of a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The plaintiffs seek orders against Tinubu, the APC, and INEC, listed as the first to third defendants, respectively.

In a motion on notice filed pursuant to Paragraph 7(8) of the Federal High Court (Pre-election) Practice Directions 2006 and the inherent jurisdiction of the court, Atiku and the ADC asked Justice Inyang Ekwo to grant them leave to amend their originating summons.

They also asked the court to deem the amended originating summons already filed with the application as properly filed.

The plaintiffs explained that they instituted the suit on August 14 but later discovered what they described as errors and omissions in the originating summons and supporting documents.

One issue they identified concerned the nomenclature of the INEC forms attached to their affidavit.

They said the relevant form was referred to as Form CF001 instead of the current Form EC9A.

Atiku and the ADC also said they needed to provide more specific details of the alleged fraud in their affidavit.

They stated that the information was already in the affidavit but needed to be set out more clearly, alongside a written deposition by Atiku.

The plaintiffs further sought to attach clearer copies of some exhibits referred to in the affidavit but which, they said, were not available when the suit was initially filed.

They argued that granting the amendment would serve the interest of justice. The plaintiffs said they “are entitled to make this amendment in the interest of justice.”

The application comes after Tinubu and the APC asked the court to dismiss the substantive suit, describing it as incompetent and arguing that Atiku and the ADC lacked the legal standing to institute it.

In a joint counter affidavit filed on September 9 through the APC Director of Legal Services, Sanusi Samaila, the defendants denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections.

They also maintained that neither Tinubu nor the APC submitted Form CF001 to INEC for the elections, as the plaintiffs alleged.

The defendants further stated that the NYSC had never denied issuing Tinubu a discharge certificate at the end of his service year.

In a written address filed by Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), counsel to Tinubu and the APC argued that the allegation of forgery was criminal in nature and must therefore be established beyond reasonable doubt.

Citing Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act and previous Supreme Court decisions, Olujinmi argued that evidence from the institution that allegedly issued the disputed certificate would be required to establish that it was forged.

He said it would be idle and useless to claim that a document was forged without a disclaimer from the institution purported to have issued it.

Olujinmi also cited a Supreme Court position that, to establish forgery, two documents should be produced: the original document from which the alleged forgery was made and the forged document itself.

The lawyer argued that Atiku and the ADC had not produced any evidence from the NYSC Directorate disclaiming the issuance of the certificate attributed to Tinubu.

He consequently described the suit as hypothetical and academic and argued that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s candidacy.

The defendants urged the court to uphold their preliminary objection and dismiss the suit.

The Federal High Court has fixed September 28 for the hearing.