‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’ vs ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’: Atiku Asks Court

The 2027 Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has approached the Registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s real identity.

The former Vice President expressed concerns about whether the former Governor of Lagos State, who is popularly known by the name ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’, is the same as ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’, which appeared on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate presented in 2023 as part of his documents to contest for the nation’s highest position at the time.

Naija News reports that Atiku argued this in court on Friday, August 14, where he deposed to an affidavit supporting a suit challenging Tinubu’s qualification to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The action, instituted by Atiku and the ADC against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), invokes, among other provisions, Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.

A part of the quoted section stressed that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC.

Atiku is therefore asking the court to determine whether the APC Presidential candidate should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential race.

In a statement made available to Naija News on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku noted that his presence at the court registry was deliberate.

“I came here personally because the issues before the court go to the heart of our Constitution and the integrity of the office of President. I cannot ask Nigerians to respect the Constitution while treating a matter of this magnitude casually. I have therefore put my name, my signature and my oath behind the facts we are presenting to the court.

“Now it is President Tinubu’s turn to answer them,” the Wazirin Adamawa stated.

He further noted that the same NYSC certificate submitted in the 2023 election is now presented to the electoral commission for the 2027 presidential election.

Atiku asked the Federal High Court to judicially determine the authenticity of the certificates.

Significantly, Atiku has also placed INEC on notice to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.

The affidavit states that Atiku had applied for certified true copies of the relevant form before filing the suit but had received no response at the time the processes were prepared.

Atiku said: “This is precisely why we have gone to court. We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court. We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it.

“If the certificate belongs to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let that be established before the court. If ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’ and ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ are one and the same person for the purpose of that certificate, let the evidence establish it. These are questions that deserve answers, not political insults or presidential silence.

“The case goes beyond the certificate itself.”

Atiku and the ADC are also challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026 which, according to their written address, effectively restrict who may challenge the qualification of a candidate at pre-election stage and the removal of qualification as a ground for questioning an election as envisaged by section 139(a)(i) of the Constitution which empowers the National Assembly to make laws that allows the questioning of whether a person elected into the office of President is qualified.

“This case therefore raises a fundamental question for our democracy,” Atiku said.

“Can an Act of the National Assembly be used as a shield against an express provision of the Constitution? Can we write into ordinary legislation an escape route from a constitutional standard applicable to everyone seeking the Presidency? Our position is that the Constitution remains supreme.”

The originating summons asks the Federal High Court to determine whether the statutory restrictions complained of can prevent the plaintiffs from invoking Section 137(1)(j), and ultimately whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the plaintiffs’ case is established.

Among the substantive reliefs sought is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election on the grounds pleaded by the plaintiffs.

Atiku added: “Nobody should misunderstand what is at stake. Nigerian graduates cannot complete NYSC documentation with one identity and simply ask employers to ignore discrepancies. Young Nigerians seeking ordinary jobs are subjected to rigorous scrutiny of their certificates. The standard cannot suddenly disappear because the applicant is seeking the highest office in the land.

“The Presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny.”

Atiku said the judicial action also places a responsibility on INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by making the relevant records available to the court.

His affidavit expressly states that INEC, as a neutral public institution, is duty-bound to uphold the Constitution regardless of whose political interest may be affected.

“INEC is holding the documents. The court has the jurisdiction to examine the issues. President Tinubu has the opportunity to defend himself. That is the constitutional process, and nobody should be afraid of it.

“The 2027 election must begin with clarity about the qualification of those seeking the Presidency. Nigerians should not be asked to vote first and investigate later.”

Atiku stressed that his personal appearance to depose to the affidavit underscored his willingness to submit himself to the same constitutional standards he demands of others.

“I have sworn to my case before the law. I am prepared to be held accountable for what I have placed before the court. President Tinubu should equally be prepared to answer the case against him before the law.

“Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, Esq., expressed confidence in the case,” Atiku noted.

Speaking for the legal team, Silas Onu said they had carefully reviewed the law and placed their arguments before the Court, adding that they were prepared to confront the Defendants’ case once served.

“We are confident that justice will prevail. This case presents an important opportunity to further develop Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence,” he said.

“This is not about privilege, personalities or presidential power. It is about one Constitution and one standard for every Nigerian.

“Nobody is above the Constitution, not Atiku Abubakar, not Bola Tinubu, and certainly not the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”