Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify President Bola Tinubu from contesting the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate.

The legal action coincided with a separate petition submitted to the European Commission in Brussels by ADC chieftain and lawyer, Kalu Agu, accusing Tinubu of allegedly submitting forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The two actions were initiated on Friday, with Atiku personally appearing at the Federal High Court registry in Abuja to depose to an affidavit supporting the suit against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and INEC.

The suit relies on Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

At the centre of the case is Section 137(1)(j), which provides that a person is not qualified to be elected President if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC.

Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election over the alleged submission of a forged NYSC certificate in connection with his presidential candidacy.

According to Atiku’s affidavit, the disputed NYSC discharge certificate allegedly bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle” instead of “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

The plaintiffs further allege that Tinubu did not obtain the certificate and that the document was submitted to INEC in connection with the 2027 election.

Atiku is also seeking an order compelling INEC to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.

The former vice president said he had previously requested Certified True Copies of the relevant documents from INEC but had not received them before commencing the suit.

Explaining his decision to appear personally at the court registry, Atiku said the matter concerned the integrity of the country’s highest political office and should be determined through due process.

“I came here personally because the issues before the court go to the heart of our Constitution and the integrity of the office of President.

“I have therefore put my name, my signature and my oath behind the facts we are presenting to the court. Now it is President Tinubu’s turn to answer them,” he said.

Atiku said the allegations should not be determined through political arguments or social media exchanges but by examining the evidence before the judiciary.

“We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court.

“We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it,” he said.

Among the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the allegations are established.

Atiku also argued that questions surrounding the authenticity of certificates submitted to INEC should be subjected to the same constitutional standards applicable to every Nigerian.

“The presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny,” he said.

He further urged INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by producing the relevant electoral documents.

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.

APC dismisses suit

Reacting to the development, the APC dismissed the suit as an exercise in futility and urged Atiku to prepare for the 2027 election instead.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said the President was qualified to contest the election and that previous legal challenges had already settled the matter.

“Atiku should go and brace for another defeat in the general election. The President is qualified to contest the election; there is nothing disqualifying him, and the matter has been settled by the Supreme Court,” Basiru said.

He accused Atiku of seeking a shortcut to power, adding that the ADC candidate should concentrate on mobilising for the election.

ADC chieftain petitions EU

Meanwhile, in Brussels, Agu submitted a separate petition to the European Commission over what he described as an alleged subversion of Nigeria’s constitutional order.

A video shared on X on Friday by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, showed Agu submitting the petition.

Agu alleged that Tinubu presented false academic credentials to INEC as part of the constitutional requirements for the 2027 presidential election.

He also alleged that the President failed to disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents submitted to INEC.

According to Agu, the alleged submission of forged certificates contravened Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution.

“This is in flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly Section 137(1)(j), which says that if you have presented a forged certificate to INEC, you will not be qualified to run for election,” he said.

Presidency dismisses EU petition

However, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, dismissed the petition, describing it as an opposition distraction.

“The opposition is on a wild goose chase in Europe. They would do everything possible to distract and avoid answering the very one question: What would you do differently from this government?” Bwala wrote on X on Friday.

The latest legal and diplomatic moves add a fresh layer to the political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the allegations now set to be tested against the relevant constitutional and electoral provisions.