Lawyers clash over service of Atiku’s suit challenging Tinubu’s 2027 eligibility

A disagreement over how to serve President Bola Tinubu with court filings has delayed a suit challenging his eligibility to contest Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.

Atiku Abubakar’s lawyer, Joseph Onu, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to serve Tinubu through substituted means. Onu said he had been unable to serve the president personally, as generally required by law.

Omosanya Popoola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria representing Tinubu, offered to receive the originating summons on the president’s behalf. He asked the court to direct Onu to hand the documents to him in open court for delivery to Tinubu. Onu rejected that proposal and said Popoola should first provide a written undertaking confirming that he had authority to accept the process.

The dispute led Judge Inyang Ekwo to adjourn the matter until September 28. The plaintiffs were given time to regularise service on the president.

Atiku, a former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, and the party filed the case in August against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission. They want the court to declare Tinubu unqualified to contest the 2027 election.

The challenge concerns the name on a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate allegedly linked to Tinubu. Atiku and the ADC say the document bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, while the president is known as Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They also allege that Tinubu submitted the certificate to INEC in support of his candidacy and contend that he did not obtain it.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine the document’s authenticity and legal effect. They rely on provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, including a constitutional provision stating that anyone who presents a forged certificate to INEC cannot contest the presidency.