Court Fixes November 20 to Rule on Atiku’s Bid to Amend Suit Against Tinubu

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 20 to rule on an application by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar seeking permission to amend his suit challenging President Bola Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Tuesday after hearing arguments from lawyers representing Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku and the ADC are seeking to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from participating in the election over allegations concerning the authenticity of the President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate submitted to INEC.

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Joseph Onu, urged the court to grant the application, arguing that the proposed amendments were necessary to correct errors in the original court processes and provide additional evidence supporting their claims.

The plaintiffs filed the application on September 10, seeking permission to amend their originating summons and have the revised documents deemed properly filed and served.

They said they had discovered errors in their initial filing, including identifying an INEC document as Form CF001 instead of Form EC9A. They also sought to provide further particulars of the alleged fraud, incorporate a written deposition by Atiku and submit clearer copies of exhibits that were unavailable when the suit was instituted.

However, Tinubu’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed the application, arguing that the parties had already joined issues and that the plaintiffs should not be permitted to substantially alter their case at that stage of the proceedings.

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Akin Olujimi, also opposed the application on behalf of the APC, urging the court to reject the proposed amendments.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alex Izinyon, similarly asked the court to dismiss the application and proceed to hear the substantive suit.

The defendants have challenged the proposed amendments, arguing that they go beyond correcting clerical errors and seek to introduce new facts, documents and reliefs into the case. INEC has also opposed the application, contending that the suit raises questions about compliance with the constitutional time limit for pre-election matters.

Atiku and the ADC instituted the substantive suit in August, asking the court to determine whether Tinubu meets the constitutional requirements to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The allegations concerning the NYSC certificate remain disputed, and the court has yet to determine the substantive case.

Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until November 20 for a ruling on whether the plaintiffs will be allowed to amend their originating summons.