Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to amend their suit seeking the disqualification of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 2027 presidential election.
The application, filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo, seeks to correct what Atiku and the ADC described as errors in their original originating summons and provide additional details supporting their allegations concerning President Tinubu’s NYSC discharge certificate.
The plaintiffs said they discovered some errors after filing the case, including the description of an INEC form attached to their affidavit as Form CF001 instead of the current Form EC9A.
They also want to specifically set out the particulars of the alleged fraud in their affidavit, include a written deposition by Atiku and attach clearer copies of some exhibits which were not available when the suit was initially filed.
Atiku and the ADC maintained that the proposed amendments were necessary in the interest of justice and would enable the court to properly consider the issues raised in the case.
The move comes after Tinubu and the APC urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that it was incompetent and that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action.
In their counter affidavit filed on September 9, Tinubu and the APC denied submitting any forged NYSC certificate to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential election.
The defendants also argued that the NYSC had never disclaimed issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu, maintaining that an allegation of forgery must be established with credible evidence, including evidence from the institution alleged to have issued the disputed document.
The court has fixed September 28 for hearing in the matter.
