The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has opposed the request by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress, ADC, to amend their court case seeking the disqualification of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku and the ADC instituted the case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, discharge certificate linked to Tinubu and submitted to INEC in connection with his electoral qualification.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to prevent Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election over their allegation that a forged NYSC discharge certificate was presented to the electoral commission.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, has Tinubu and the APC as the first and second defendants, while INEC is the third defendant.
Atiku and the ADC also want the court to direct INEC to remove Tinubu’s name and that of the APC from the list of presidential candidates and political parties for the 2027 election.
However, INEC has challenged the request and questioned the legal basis of the entire suit.
In a preliminary objection filed on September 7 through its counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, the electoral commission argued that the case was filed outside the time allowed by law and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to bring the action.
INEC also claimed that the suit did not disclose a reasonable cause of action and amounted to an abuse of the court process.
The commission further argued that Atiku and the ADC failed to meet a mandatory requirement relating to written depositions under the Federal High Court Pre-Election Practice Directions, as amended in 2026.
INEC also challenged the propriety of two of the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs and asked the court to dismiss the case.
Tinubu and the APC have similarly opposed the suit. In a joint counter-affidavit filed on September 9, they asked the court to throw out the case on the grounds that it was incompetent and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal right to institute it.
The President and the APC denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC in relation to either the 2023 or 2027 presidential election.
They also rejected the claim that Form CF001 was submitted to INEC for either election, as alleged by Atiku and the ADC.
The defendants further stated that the NYSC had not denied issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu after he completed his national service.
The legal dispute is now before the Federal High Court, where the court will determine the objections raised by INEC, Tinubu and the APC alongside Atiku and the ADC’s request to amend their case.