Spread the word
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 20, 2026 to rule on whether the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, can be permitted to amend his suit seeking to prohibit President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo fixed the date on Tuesday following the insistence of Atiku Abubakar who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to alter his claims against Tinubu and the vehement opposition against the bid by Tinubu and APC.
At the proceedings, Joseph Silas Onu who stood for Atiku adopted his application praying for permission of the Court to amend the originating summons against Tinubu and APC to accommodate more allegations.
The lawyer said that the aim of the amendment being sought was to allow the plaintiff to produce more evidence against Tinubu and his party in the certificate forgery battle.
On September 10, 2026 Atiku and the ADC filed the application seeking leave to amend their originating summons and have the proposed amended process deemed properly filed.
They said they discovered errors in the original suit, including referring to an INEC form as Form CF001 instead of Form EC9A.
They also said the amendment was necessary to set out the particulars of the alleged fraud, include a written deposition by Atiku and attach clearer copies of exhibits that were unavailable when the suit was filed.
However, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, who represented Tinubu kicked against Atiku Abubakar’s bid adding that since both parties have joined issues with each other, the former Vice President cannot shift the goal post in the middle of the game.
A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice AGF, Akin Olujimi SAN who argued for APC opposed Atiku on the same ground and urged the Judge to reject the bid.
Dr Alex Izinyon also prayed Justice Ekwo to dismiss the amendment request and proceed to the substantive matter.
After taking adoption of arguments, Justice Ekwo fixed November 20 to make his decision known in his ruling on the application.
Atiku and the ADC had filed the main suit seeking the disqualification of Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election over the President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
They alleged that the APC submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC and asked the court to order the electoral commission to remove Tinubu and the APC from the list of candidates and parties for the election.
Spread the word