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 contest the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forgery of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo set the date on Tuesday after hearing arguments from lawyers representing Atiku, Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), instituted the suit alongside his party, asking the court to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 election.
The plaintiffs alleged that the APC submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC in support of Tinubu’s nomination, urging the electoral commission to remove the president and his party from the list of candidates and political parties for the election.
Atiku and the ADC filed an application on September 10 seeking permission to amend their originating summons after identifying errors and omissions in the documents supporting their case.
Their proposed amendments include correcting the description of an INEC nomination document from Form CF001 to Form EC9A, providing clearer copies of exhibits and setting out more details of the alleged fraud in their supporting affidavit.
They argued that the changes were necessary to correct errors and clarify their existing claims, insisting that they were not introducing a new case or seeking additional reliefs.
However, Tinubu and the APC opposed the application, arguing that the proposed amendments went beyond correcting errors and would introduce new facts, documents and reliefs into the suit.
In a counter-affidavit, Tinubu’s legal team also argued that the substantive case was statute-barred because it was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed period for pre-election matters. They urged the court to dismiss the application.
INEC also opposed the amendment, contending that the proposed changes could introduce a new cause of action or attempt to correct legal defects after the deadline for filing the suit had expired.
The commission further challenged the competence of the substantive suit, citing issues including the plaintiffs’ legal standing and alleged non-compliance with procedural requirements.
Tinubu and the APC have denied submitting a forged NYSC certificate to INEC, maintaining that the allegations do not provide grounds for disqualification.
The court’s November 20 ruling will determine whether Atiku and the ADC can amend their suit before the substantive case proceeds.
