A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled October 13 to hear an application by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to amend his ongoing legal challenge against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Inyang Ekwo set the new hearing date after legal representatives for both sides confirmed that the necessary court processes required regularisation. During the proceedings, Joseph Silas, counsel for the plaintiffs, stated he had reviewed responses from some defendants but awaited President Tinubu's counter affidavit. Wole Olanipekun, representing the president, countered that the counter affidavit had been successfully served on September 24, a detail verified by the court's proof of service.
The underlying lawsuit seeks the disqualification of President Tinubu and the APC from the upcoming 2027 presidential election. The plaintiffs allege that the governing party submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They are petitioning the court to direct the electoral body to remove both the president and the party from the official list of election candidates. President Tinubu and the APC have firmly denied the allegations and requested a full dismissal of the suit.
Earlier in September, the plaintiffs moved to amend their originating summons, explaining that the adjustments were necessary to correct technical errors—such as misidentifying an INEC document as Form CF001 instead of Form EC9A—include a written deposition from Atiku, and attach clearer versions of documentary evidence.
Opposing the request, legal teams for both President Tinubu and INEC argued that the proposed updates exceed simple error corrections. They contended that the changes introduce entirely new facts, documents, and causes of action, and attempt to cure fundamental defects in the original filing after the expiration of statutory deadlines for pre-election matters.
The court will hear arguments on the amendment application when proceedings resume on October 13, alongside pending preliminary objections challenging the overall competence of the lawsuit.