2027 Election: Atiku’s Suit Against Tinubu’s Eligibility Suffers Setback

By Vivian Okejeme

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s suit challenging President Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to participate in the 2027 presidential election suffered a setback on Tuesday.

The matter, which was scheduled for mention on Tuesday, was stalled following Atiku’s inability to serve the court process on Tinubu.

When the matter was called, counsel to Atiku, Joseph Onu Silas, lamented that he had been unable to reach President Tinubu for personal service of the originating summons on him in line with the provisions of the law.

He, therefore, prayed the court to grant him an order for substituted service to enable the suit to formally proceed without obstacles.

However, counsel to President Tinubu, Omosanya Popoola, SAN, notified Justice Inyang Ekwo of his decision to accept the court process on behalf of his client.

Popoola, SAN, urged Justice Ekwo to order Atiku’s lawyer to make the court process available to him in open court for delivery to Tinubu.

However, rather than complying, Atiku’s lawyer insisted that Popoola, SAN, must provide a written undertaking confirming that he had Tinubu’s mandate to represent him before the court process could be delivered to him.

At this point, the judge, in a bid to resolve the logjam, adjourned the matter to enable Atiku to put his house in order.

An attempt by Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, to convince the court to order the service of the court process on Tinubu through his lawyer to allow proceedings to continue did not yield the desired result.

Justice Ekwo, therefore, adjourned the matter until September 28 for further mention.

Atiku had dragged Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court, seeking Tinubu’s disqualification from the 2027 presidential election on various eligibility grounds.

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), had deposed to an affidavit in support of his suit challenging the qualification of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to contest the 2027 presidential election.

In the court process, Atiku is urging the court to invoke Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, to determine whether Tinubu can participate in the election.

The three defendants in the suit are Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku claimed that Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC. He asked the court to determine whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election over the NYSC certificate presented to INEC in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.

In his affidavit, Atiku alleged that Tinubu submitted to INEC an NYSC discharge certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, which, according to him, is different from the President’s name, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The affidavit further alleged that the same NYSC certificate was submitted in connection with the 2027 presidential election and that the document was not a certificate obtained by Tinubu.

Atiku also placed INEC on notice to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.

“If the certificate belongs to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let that be established before the court. If ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’ and ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ are one and the same person for the purpose of that certificate, let the evidence establish it. These are questions that deserve answers, not political insults or presidential silence,” he added.

Atiku and the ADC are also challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which restrict who may challenge the qualification of a candidate at the pre-election stage, as well as the removal of qualification as a ground for questioning an election as envisaged by Section 139(a)(i) of the Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to make laws allowing questions to be raised as to whether a person elected to the office of President is qualified.

According to Atiku and the ADC, the legislation cannot be used to shut the door against the enforcement of an express constitutional provision, arguing that where an Act of the National Assembly conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution must prevail.

The originating summons asks the Federal High Court to determine whether the statutory restrictions complained of can prevent the plaintiffs from invoking Section 137(1)(j) and, ultimately, whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the plaintiffs’ case is established.

The substantive relief sought is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the election on the grounds pleaded by the plaintiffs.