A suit challenging the eligibility of President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election has been delayed after the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned proceedings until 13 October 2026 to hear an application seeking to amend the original court filing.
The legal action, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was instituted in August by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar alongside the African Democratic Congress. The plaintiffs are challenging the President’s eligibility primarily over an alleged discrepancy between his official name and the name appearing on the National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
At the scheduled mention before Justice Inyang Ekwo, counsel for the plaintiffs, Joseph Silas, confirmed that court papers had been served on all parties within the required timeframe and that responses had been exchanged. Silas then notified the court of an application to amend the originating summons, confirming that opposing legal teams had been put on notice.
The adjournment comes after previous procedural friction regarding how legal papers were served on the President. The court had granted permission on 16 September for substituted service through the All Progressives Congress following claims by the plaintiffs that personal service on the President was difficult.
The APC contested the substituted service order, maintaining that defence counsel had already picked up the court documents and prepared their case before the order was requested. During the latest sitting, senior counsel for the President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, recalled an earlier hearing on 1 September 2026 where counsel for the second defendant, Popoola Owosanya, offered to accept service on behalf of the President. Olanipekun stated that the offer was turned down by the plaintiffs, who later sought substituted service and attempted to “deceive this court” by claiming an inability to serve the first defendant.
Justice Ekwo instructed the legal teams to concentrate on the immediate schedule before formally deferring the matter, holding, “This case is hereby adjourned until the 13th of October 2026, for hearing of the motion to amend originating summons.”
Meanwhile, the electoral body has submitted its response challenging the competence of the lawsuit, raising preliminary objections regarding the plaintiffs’ locus standi and arguing that the suit constitutes an abuse of court process.