- Seeks President’s Disqualification From Polls
- Lawyer Petitions EU Over Tinubu’s Credentials, $460,000 US Forfeiture Case
The 2027 presidential battle has exploded into a fresh legal showdown as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, dragged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged forgery of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
Atiku, who filed the suit alongside the ADC on Friday, is asking the court to disqualify Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election if the allegations are established.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were also joined as defendants in the suit.
In a dramatic move underscoring the political weight Atiku attaches to the case, the former vice-president personally appeared at the court registry to depose to an affidavit supporting the action.
Atiku said he personally came to court because the matter touches directly on the constitutional requirements for occupying Nigeria’s highest political office.
“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,” Atiku said.
“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.”
NYSC Certificate At The Heart Of The Battle
At the centre of the suit is Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which provides that a person is not qualified for election as president if they have presented a forged certificate to INEC.
Atiku and the ADC allege that the NYSC certificate submitted to INEC in Tinubu’s name bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, which they contend differs from the president’s name, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu and the APC should be barred from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the allegations are proven.
They are also seeking an order compelling INEC to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
According to the affidavit, Atiku had previously applied for certified true copies of the relevant documents but had not received a response before the suit was filed.
Atiku Challenges Electoral Act
The legal battle extends beyond the alleged certificate controversy.
Atiku and the ADC are also challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which they argue restrict the ability of political actors to challenge a candidate’s qualification before an election.
The plaintiffs contend that the National Assembly cannot enact legislation capable of overriding an express constitutional provision.
They are therefore asking the court to determine whether the statutory restrictions under the Electoral Act can prevent them from invoking Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution.
If the court agrees with their arguments, the plaintiffs want an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential race.
‘We Are Not Asking Nigerians To Decide On Social Media’
Atiku insisted that the case was not a political trial to be conducted through media exchanges, but a legal challenge that should be settled through evidence and judicial determination.
“We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court,” he said.»
“We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it.”»
The suit has the potential to inject a fresh dose of legal uncertainty into an already fiercely contested 2027 political landscape, with Atiku directly challenging the eligibility of the incumbent president to appear on the ballot.
Lawyers: ‘Justice Will Prevail’
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, said they were confident in the case after examining the relevant constitutional and electoral provisions.
Silas described the case as an opportunity for the judiciary to provide further clarity on Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence.
“We are confident that justice will prevail. This case presents an important opportunity to further develop Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence,” he said.
Meanwhile, a lawyer and chieftain of the ADC, Barrister Kalu Kalu, has taken the long-running controversy over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic credentials and a 1993 United States forfeiture case to the European Union.
Kalu submitted a petition to the European Commission in Brussels on Friday, asking European authorities to examine what he described as violations of Nigeria’s constitutional order arising from Tinubu’s alleged submission of false academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking after submitting the petition, Kalu alleged that Tinubu failed to disclose details of his primary and secondary education in documents submitted to INEC and argued that the development breached provisions of Section 137 of the 1999 Constitution.
“I am here at the European Commission to submit a petition to the European Union concerning the subversion of constitutional order in Nigeria,” Kalu said.
He alleged that Tinubu submitted “forged academic credentials” to INEC ahead of the 2027 presidential election and argued that presenting a false certificate to the electoral commission could constitute grounds for disqualification.
The lawyer also revived questions surrounding a 1993 U.S. civil forfeiture involving $460,000 linked to accounts in Tinubu’s name in a case connected to a narcotics investigation. The forfeiture has featured prominently in previous political and legal controversies surrounding Tinubu.
The petition marks a fresh internationalisation of disputes that featured heavily during the 2023 presidential election, particularly controversies surrounding Tinubu’s academic records and his time at Chicago State University.
However, the allegations remain contested. Chicago State University previously confirmed that Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution, while U.S. authorities have not established a criminal conviction against him arising from the forfeiture matter.
Kalu said the petition was intended to draw the attention of European authorities to what he described as threats to constitutional democracy in Nigeria.
“So I’m here to submit a petition to the EU to help restore constitutional democracy in Nigeria,” he said.
The move comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general election and is likely to reignite debate over Tinubu’s credentials, eligibility and the unresolved political disputes surrounding his 2023 election.
There was no immediate response from the European Commission to the petition.
The cases now place the spotlight on Tinubu, APC and INEC as the legal battle over the president’s eligibility for the 2027 presidential election begins.
