The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned a suit filed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar challenging President Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed September 28, 2026, for further mention of the case after Atiku’s legal team said it had been unable to personally serve Tinubu with the originating summons as required by law.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Atiku’s counsel, Joseph Onu Silas, told the court that efforts to serve the president had been unsuccessful.
He subsequently sought an order permitting substituted service to enable the case to proceed.
However, a courtroom dispute emerged when Omosanya Popoola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) appearing for Tinubu, offered to accept the court process on behalf of the president.
Popoola urged Justice Ekwo to direct Atiku’s lawyer to hand the originating summons to him in open court for delivery to Tinubu.
Atiku’s counsel, however, declined, insisting that Popoola should first provide a written undertaking confirming that he had Tinubu’s mandate to accept the process and represent him in the matter.
An attempt by another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Alex Izinyon, to persuade the court to permit service of the process on Tinubu through his lawyer also failed to resolve the dispute.
Justice Ekwo subsequently adjourned the matter to September 28 to allow Atiku’s legal team to put its house in order.
APM calls for Tinubu’s withdrawal
Meanwhile, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has called on Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over unresolved allegations connected to a drug-related case involving him in the United States.
The party said Tinubu’s reported legal challenge against the release of documents allegedly held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had heightened public interest in the matter.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Abubakar, the APM expressed confidence that the U.S. judicial system would determine the matter based on the law and available evidence.
The party alleged that Tinubu’s lawyers approached the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on August 28, 2026, seeking to block a summary judgment and prevent the release of documents which it claimed could implicate the president.
APM argued that the reported attempt to restrict disclosure of the documents raised questions about Tinubu’s concerns regarding their possible contents, particularly with the 2027 election approaching.
“If, indeed, President Tinubu’s lawyers were convinced of his innocence, they should have boldly used this case as an opportunity to help their client clear his name once and for all, rather than seeking to suppress evidence,” the party said.
The opposition party consequently urged Tinubu to step aside from the 2027 presidential contest, arguing that his withdrawal would spare the country what it described as unnecessary political embarrassment and controversy.
