The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an application by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to serve court documents on President Bola Tinubu through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after granting an ex parte application filed by Atiku’s counsel, O.T. Omotayo-Ojo, seeking leave to effect substituted service on the president through the ruling party.
Atiku and the ADC, in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, are asking the court to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
The plaintiffs alleged that the APC submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate belonging to Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They are seeking an order directing INEC to remove Tinubu and the APC from the list of candidates for the 2027 presidential poll.
Omotayo-Ojo told the court that the application became necessary after efforts to personally serve the president with the originating processes were unsuccessful.
Justice Ekwo granted the request and directed the plaintiffs to serve the documents through the APC within seven days. He subsequently adjourned the matter until **September 28** for mention.
Meanwhile, Tinubu, the APC and INEC have filed separate preliminary objections and counter-affidavits urging the court to dismiss the suit.
In a joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, Tinubu and the APC denied submitting any forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections. They argued that the NYSC had never disowned the discharge certificate issued to the president and insisted no constitutional provision had been violated.
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The defendants also maintained that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence from the NYSC disclaiming the certificate or proving that any document submitted by Tinubu was forged.
Lead counsel for Tinubu and the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), argued that allegations of forgery are criminal in nature and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. He cited established legal authorities requiring a disclaimer from the issuing institution before a document can be declared forged.
According to him, Atiku and the ADC failed to present any evidence from the NYSC challenging the authenticity of the certificate and lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, describing the case as hypothetical and incompetent.
INEC also challenged the competence of the suit, arguing that it was statute-barred, disclosed no reasonable cause of action and failed to comply with the provisions of the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions (Amendment) 2026. The commission urged the court to dismiss the case.
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