A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Akin Olujinmi, SAN, has described the allegation by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that President Bola Tinubu submitted a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate as speculative and unsupported by evidence.
Olujinmi, who is leading Tinubu’s legal team in a suit seeking to disqualify the president from the 2027 presidential election, made the submission in a preliminary objection filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The former AGF argued that Atiku and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which instituted the suit, failed to produce evidence from the NYSC disputing the issuance of the discharge certificate attributed to Tinubu.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, seeks the disqualification of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 2027 presidential election on the allegation that a forged NYSC certificate was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Olujinmi argued that a claim of forgery could not be sustained without evidence from the issuing authority of the alleged document or the original document against which the purported forgery could be established.
He further submitted that forgery, being a criminal allegation, must be proved beyond reasonable doubt under the Evidence Act.
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According to the senior lawyer, Atiku’s case was based on hypothetical questions rather than established facts and failed to demonstrate how his legal rights had been infringed by Tinubu’s nomination.
Olujinmi also argued that parts of the suit were statute-barred, contending that any challenge to the submission of Tinubu’s documents to INEC ought to have been filed within 14 days of the submission.
He maintained that the suit was incompetent as a pre-election matter under the Constitution and Electoral Act, arguing that only an aspirant who participated in a political party’s primary could challenge its nomination process.
The former AGF therefore urged the court to uphold the preliminary objection and dismiss the suit in its entirety.
APC Denies Forgery Allegation
A joint counter-affidavit filed in support of Tinubu’s preliminary objection also denied the allegation that the President submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to INEC.
The affidavit, deposed to by the APC Director of Legal Services, Sanusi Samaila, stated that no forged certificate was submitted by Tinubu to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 presidential elections.
Samaila also disputed the claim that Tinubu submitted Form CF001 to INEC as alleged by Atiku and the ADC.
He maintained that the NYSC had never denied issuing a discharge certificate to Tinubu.
According to the affidavit, all documents submitted by Tinubu to INEC were authentic and were accepted by the electoral commission, which subsequently published the particulars of the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 and 2027 elections.
The APC further argued that Atiku lacked the legal standing to challenge Tinubu’s nomination because he was neither a member of the APC nor a participant in the party’s presidential primary that produced Tinubu as its candidate.
The party maintained that Atiku and the ADC were not challenging any action by INEC or alleging a breach of the Constitution or Electoral Act but were instead questioning the APC’s internal nomination process.
The affidavit stated that the APC submitted the names of its candidates to INEC on June 26, while the commission acknowledged receipt of Tinubu’s profile on July 11.
The defendants consequently urged the Federal High Court to dismiss the suit.
Justice Inyang Ekwo had earlier fixed September 28 for the hearing of the matter.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.