Atiku Abubakar Sues to Disqualify Bola Tinubu from 2027 Election

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress candidate Atiku Abubakar filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 14, 2026, seeking to disqualify President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress from the 2027 presidential election. The suit alleges that President Tinubu submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, noting a name discrepancy between the certificate's "Tinubu Bola Adekunle" and the president's actual name.

Atiku argues that under Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, the presentation of a forged certificate disqualifies a candidate from the presidency. The lawsuit demands that the electoral commission produce the president's Form CF001 records for the 2023 and 2027 elections. Additionally, the plaintiffs are challenging the Electoral Act 2026, contending that legislation cannot restrict constitutional grounds for questioning a candidate's qualifications.

Simultaneously, lawyer Kalu Kalu, a member of Atiku's legal team, submitted a petition to the European Commission in Brussels. Kalu alleges that President Tinubu subverted Nigeria's constitutional order by submitting false academic credentials and failing to disclose his primary and secondary school history. The petition also requests that European institutions investigate a 1993 civil forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States linked to a drug investigation. President Tinubu has consistently denied all forgery and drug trafficking allegations, and Nigerian courts have previously dismissed similar challenges to his election victory.