The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar permission to serve President Bola Tinubu with court processes through the All Progressives Congress, following difficulties in personally serving the President with the originating documents in a suit challenging his eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application for substituted service on Wednesday after hearing an ex-parte motion filed by Atiku's legal team. The court directed that the processes be served through the APC within seven days and adjourned the case until September 28 for mention.
Atiku and the African Democratic Congress are the plaintiffs in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026. President Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission are listed as the first, second and third defendants respectively.
The suit seeks to prevent Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election over allegations concerning a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate which the plaintiffs claim was submitted to INEC.
Atiku alleges that the certificate bears the name "Tinubu Bola Adekunle" and argues that its submission amounted to the presentation of false information to the electoral commission. The plaintiffs are relying, among other provisions, on Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which concerns disqualification arising from the presentation of a forged certificate to INEC.
The latest court order does not determine the substance of those allegations. It concerns the method by which the court processes can be served on Tinubu so that the case can proceed.
The development follows an earlier difficulty in serving the President personally. At a previous hearing, Atiku's lawyer told the court that efforts to serve Tinubu had not been successful and requested permission to use substituted service. The matter was subsequently adjourned to allow the issue of service to be addressed.
Tinubu and the APC have opposed the suit and asked the court to dismiss it. In their response, they denied submitting a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC and argued that the NYSC had never denied issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu.
Their legal team has also challenged the competence of the case, including arguments concerning the plaintiffs' legal standing to bring the action and the requirements for proving an allegation of forgery.
INEC has separately filed a preliminary objection challenging the suit. The electoral commission has raised issues including the alleged statute-barred nature of the action, lack of locus standi, absence of a reasonable cause of action and alleged abuse of court process. INEC has also questioned whether the plaintiffs complied with applicable pre-election practice requirements.
The case is therefore being contested on both procedural and substantive grounds, with the defendants seeking its dismissal while Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to hear their challenge to Tinubu's eligibility.
The latest order means the plaintiffs can now proceed with serving the court documents through the APC, subject to the seven-day period specified by the court. The case is expected to return before Justice Ekwo on September 28.
The court's decision to permit substituted service should not be interpreted as a ruling that Tinubu is ineligible to contest the 2027 election or that the allegations concerning the NYSC certificate have been established. Those issues remain matters for determination in the ongoing legal proceedings
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