The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned until October 13, 2026 for the hearing of a motion by former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress to amend their originating summons challenging President Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the date when the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was called for mention. The case was brought against the president, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The applicants, Atiku and the ADC, asked the court for leave to correct errors they said were in the originating documents. They told the court they needed to amend the nomenclature of INEC forms attached to their affidavit, replace an inelegant copy of an exhibit with a clearer one, and include a written deposition of the first plaintiff. The motion was filed under Paragraph 7(8) of the Federal High Court (Pre-election) Practice Directions, 2006, according to the applicants’ records (Vanguard).
The substantive suit challenges a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate linked to Mr Tinubu that the plaintiffs say contains a discrepancy, and asks the court to disqualify the president and the APC from the 2027 presidential poll. The plaintiffs have alleged that APC submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC (Vanguard). The allegation remains the plaintiffs’ claim.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Joseph Silas, told the court the defendants had been put on notice of the application. Defence counsel Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said a counter affidavit for the president was served on the plaintiffs on September 24 and that proof of service had been filed and confirmed by the court (Vanguard). Punch reported earlier disputes over service, and recalled that the court on September 16 granted the plaintiffs permission to serve Mr Tinubu through the APC after personal service proved difficult (Punch).
The president and the APC have filed a joint counter affidavit asking the court to dismiss the suit as incompetent and saying the plaintiffs lack locus standi. They deny submitting any forged certificate to INEC for 2023 or 2027 and say the NYSC has not denied issuing the discharge certificate to the president, according to their court filings (Vanguard). The counter affidavit opposing the amendment was filed on September 24 and deposed to by a litigation support officer in Mr Olanipekun’s firm, who said the proposed changes would alter the plaintiffs’ case (Vanguard).
INEC has also challenged the competence of the action. The commission filed a preliminary objection on grounds that include statute-bar, want of locus standi, absence of reasonable cause of action and abuse of court process, and that the plaintiffs failed to comply with the written deposition requirement in the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions (Amendment) 2026 (Vanguard). Punch reported the commission has filed a response raising similar competence issues (Punch).
“This case is hereby adjourned until the 13th of October 2026, for hearing of the motion to amend originating summons,”
The judge gave the adjournment after lawyers were urged to concentrate on the day’s business. The hearing on October 13 will determine whether the plaintiffs may amend their originating summons and, if allowed, the amended pleadings will be placed before the court for the substantive contest on the merits (Punch) (Vanguard).
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