Atiku Abubakar Launches Legal Campaign to Disqualify President Tinubu

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress, has launched a legal and public campaign to disqualify President Bola Tinubu from the 2027 election. Abubakar filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja alleging irregularities in Tinubu's National Youth Service Corps certificate and submitted a Freedom of Information request to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding historical civil forfeiture proceedings.

In a BBC interview, Abubakar further claimed that President Tinubu is 90 years old and sick, asserting he has documentary evidence to prove this in court. He contrasted these claims with his own health and agility, promising to control national insurgency and insecurity within one year of taking office. In response, Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri challenged the age claim by sharing a 1996 photograph of Tinubu, arguing the president's appearance in the photo contradicts the 90-year-old allegation.

Presidential Special Adviser Daniel Bwala dismissed Abubakar's strategy as a gamble on populist rhetoric, specifically his pledge to restore the fuel subsidy. Bwala suggested that 2027 may be Abubakar's final opportunity to seek office. Meanwhile, Maiyegun Oloriegbe of The Progressive Counsel argued that if Tinubu's eligibility is litigated, Abubakar's own citizenship status should be scrutinized with equal force, describing the legal battle as a distraction from national economic recovery.