- Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, fixed November 20 for ruling on Atiku Abubakar's application to amend his suit against President Bola Tinubu and the APC
- Atiku and the ADC filed the original suit seeking to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged NYSC certificate
- Tinubu's legal team argued the amendment request was statute-barred and amounted to filing an entirely new action rather than correcting errors
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering politics, elections, public affairs, and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja - Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned proceedings in the pre-election suit involving Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu until Friday, November 20, when he will deliver a ruling on Atiku's request to amend his originating summons.
Channels Television reported the update, which was also corroborated by Vanguard.
Source: Facebook
Atiku's amendment request in Tinubu suit
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the ADC filed the main suit to disqualify President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 2027 presidential election. Their case centres on allegations that the APC submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tinubu's behalf. They asked the court to order INEC to remove Tinubu and APC from the list of candidates and parties for the 2027 poll.
After the defendants filed their counter affidavits, Atiku and the ADC approached the court seeking to amend their originating summons. They said the motion, dated September 4 and filed September 10, was meant to correct a naming error in which INEC's current Form EC9A had been referred to as Form CF001, and to include clearer copies of exhibits and a written deposition by Atiku himself.
Tinubu, APC oppose Atiku’s court amendment
Counsel to President Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), told the court the amendment application should be dismissed, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant it and that the suit was already statute-barred. He said what Atiku was seeking was effectively a new action, not a correction of minor errors.
APC's lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN), backed this position, adding that the defendants had filed a counter affidavit and written address on September 12. INEC's counsel, Alex Izinyon (SAN), also urged the court to dismiss the application, pointing to a six-paragraph counter affidavit and written address his client filed on September 10.
In their joint counter affidavit to the main suit, Tinubu and the APC denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC, either for the 2023 or 2027 elections. They said the NYSC had never denied issuing the discharge certificate and argued that a disclaimer from the issuing institution would be required to prove forgery, citing a Supreme Court precedent.
Source: Facebook
Moses Adoga, a litigation support officer in Olanipekun's law firm, deposed in a separate counter affidavit that the proposed amendment went beyond correcting descriptions and introduced entirely new reliefs, additional documents, and fresh paragraphs that were absent from the original filing.
INEC similarly argued that granting the amendment would allow Atiku to cure a jurisdictional defect after the 14-day window prescribed by Section 285(9) of the Constitution for pre-election suits had already expired.
Justice Ekwo, after hearing all submissions, adjourned the matter to November 20 for ruling.
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'Reason for poverty under Tinubu' - Presidency
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the presidency admitted that more Nigerians have fallen into poverty since Tinubu took office, but argued that the hardship is a direct result of the administration's economic reform programme.
The Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, made the acknowledgement while responding to a recent report by The Economist on alleged public dissatisfaction with President Tinubu.
Source: Legit.ng