Alleged forged certificates: Atiku drags Tinubu to court
As the race for next year’s general polls intensifies, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday, 14th August, 2026, dragged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the Federal High Court, Abuja, to answer questions about his educational qualifications to contest the 2027 polls. His co-plaintiff is his political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
‌ The Guardian reports that Atiku Abubakar, who is also the ADC’s presidential candidate in next year’s election, personally appeared at the court registry to file the processes.
In an affidavit supporting the suit challenging Tinubu’s eligibility for the 2027 election, Atiku and the ADC joined Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as co-defendants.
The suit invokes, among other provisions, Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The crux of the action is Section 137(1)(j), which provides that no person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if they present a forged certificate to INEC.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election, alleging that Tinubu presented a forged NYSC certificate to INEC in connection with the 2023 and 2027 elections.
Speaking to reporters after deposing to the affidavit, Atiku said: “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 cannot ask Nigerians to respect the Constitution while treating a matter of this magnitude casually. 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.”
In the affidavit, Atiku alleged that the NYSC Discharge Certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” which he argued is not the same as Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Atiku wants the Federal High Court to make a judicial pronouncement on this.
Atiku has also put INEC on notice to produce the Form CF001 Tinubu is said to have submitted for the 2023 and 2027 presidential ballots. Atiku said he had applied to INEC for certified true copies of the form prior to filing the suit but received no reply.
He added that his court action placed on INEC the onus to demonstrate its impartiality by making the relevant records available.
“INEC is holding the documents. The court has the jurisdiction to examine the issues. President Tinubu has the opportunity to defend himself. That is the constitutional process, and nobody should be afraid of it.”
Atiku stressed that by appearing personally to depose to the affidavit, he was submitting himself to the same constitutional standards he demands of others.
“I have sworn to my case before the law. I am prepared to be held accountable for what I have placed before the court. President Tinubu should equally be prepared to answer the case against him before the law.”
He explained further: “This is precisely why we have gone to court. 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.
“If the certificate belongs to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let that be established before the court. If ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’ and ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ are one and the same person for the purpose of that certificate, let the evidence establish it. These are questions that deserve answers, not political insults or presidential silence.”
Beyond the certificate issue, Atiku and the ADC are also challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026. According to their written address, those provisions restrict who may challenge a candidate’s qualification at the pre-election stage, and remove qualification as a ground for questioning an election under Section 139(a)(i) of the Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to make laws allowing such questions to be raised.
They argue that the Electoral Act cannot be used to shut the door against enforcement of an express constitutional provision, contending that the Constitution supersedes every other law.
“Can an Act of the National Assembly be used as a shield against an express provision of the Constitution? Can we write into ordinary legislation an escape route from a constitutional standard applicable to everyone seeking the Presidency? Our position is that the Constitution remains supreme,” Atiku said.
The originating summons seeks the court’s leave to determine whether the statutory restrictions complained of can prevent the plaintiffs from invoking Section 137(1)(j), and whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from the 2027 election if the plaintiffs’ case is established. The plaintiffs seek an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC on the grounds pleaded.
Atiku added: “Nobody should misunderstand what is at stake. Nigerian graduates cannot complete NYSC documentation with one identity and simply ask employers to ignore discrepancies. Young Nigerians seeking ordinary jobs are subjected to rigorous scrutiny of their certificates. The standard cannot suddenly disappear because the applicant is seeking the highest office in the land.
“The 2027 election must begin with clarity about the qualification of those seeking the Presidency. Nigerians should not be asked to vote first and investigate later.”
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu and Silas Onu, expressed confidence in the case. Onu said: “We are confident that justice will prevail. This case presents an important opportunity to further develop Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence. This is not about privilege, personalities or presidential power. It is about one Constitution and one standard for every Nigerian. Nobody is above the Constitution — not Atiku Abubakar, not Bola Tinubu, and certainly not the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
