Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Friday, 14 August 2026, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the disqualification of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku personally appeared at the court registry and deposed to an affidavit in support of the originating summons instituted by himself and the ADC against Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The action is anchored primarily on Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The suit also invokes Sections 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the Constitution, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
At the centre of the case is an alleged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to INEC. According to Atiku’s affidavit, the document bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” which differs from the President’s known name, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” The plaintiffs contend that the certificate was not obtained by Tinubu and that the same document was submitted in connection with both the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether these facts, if established, render Tinubu and the APC constitutionally disqualified from participating in the 2027 presidential election. They have also placed INEC on notice to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for the 2023 and 2027 elections. Atiku stated that he had previously applied for certified true copies of the relevant forms but had not received a response at the time the court processes were prepared.
Speaking after taking the oath, Atiku explained his personal appearance at the registry: “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. I cannot ask Nigerians to respect the Constitution while treating a matter of this magnitude casually. 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.”
He added: “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.”
Atiku emphasised that the matter should be resolved judicially rather than on social media, stressing the need for the institution holding the records to produce them and for the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it.
The allegations remain unproven and are now formally before the Federal High Court for determination.