Could President Bola Tinubu and the APC be knocked out of the 2027 presidential race before it even begins? That’s what Atiku Abubakar is pushing for, and a Federal High Court in Abuja has just set a decisive date.

Justice Inyang Ekwo has fixed 20 November to rule on whether Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress [ADC], can amend his eligibility suit against President Tinubu and the APC.

According to cbinews.tv, Atiku’s team told the court on Tuesday that their application to tweak the originating summons was ripe for hearing. Counsel to Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun SAN, APC’s counsel Akin Olujinmi SAN, and INEC’s counsel Alex Izinyon SAN all said they were ready.

In the main suit, Atiku and the ADC want the court to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 poll. Their claim? That the APC submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps [NYSC] discharge certificate for the President to INEC, and they want INEC to strike both names from the candidates’ list.

The defence is pushing back hard. After filing counter-affidavits, they argue Atiku’s amendment motion is statute-barred, incompetent, and an attempt to introduce a fresh cause of action outside the 14-day window allowed for pre-election matters.

INEC, in its own counter-affidavit, also opposed the amendment, saying it tries to cure a jurisdictional defect and fix confusion over Forms CF001/EC9 after time had run out.

For ordinary Nigerians, especially young graduates for whom NYSC is compulsory, certificate credibility is personal. This isn’t just legal grammar — it’s about trust in the system that decides who gets to lead.

This isn’t the first time Tinubu’s academic and service records have been litigated. Similar questions dominated the 2023 election cycle, with Atiku, then of the PDP, leading a legal challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Nigerian electoral law is strict: Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution says pre-election suits must be filed within 14 days of the event. That time-bar argument is now at the heart of this case.

What Atiku wants now is leave to amend, to correct document descriptions, add particulars of alleged fraud, and add a prayer. The court must decide if that’s a simple correction, which is allowed, or a brand-new case in disguise, which would be out of time.

All eyes on 20 November. If Justice Ekwo allows the amendment, the substantive forgery suit proceeds with new teeth. If he dismisses it, Atiku’s 2027 disqualification bid could collapse before trial.

We’ll be tracking it for you on cbinews.tv.

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