Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the request by former Vice President and presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, to serve court documents on President Bola Tinubu through his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Justice Ekwo on Wednesday granted the request while ruling on an ex-parte application brought by Atiku in a suit he filed in his name and that of his party, the ADC, seeking to disqualify Tinubu from contesting the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Atiku’s lawyer, Omotayo Ojo, who held the brief of Silas Onu, had informed the court that the plaintiff would effect service within seven days.
Ruling on the application, Justice Ekwo ordered that service should be done within seven days and adjourned till September 28 for mention.
Onu had on September 1 told the court that his client was yet to serve the suit’s originating documents on Tinubu personally.
The lawyer said he required an order of court to serve the documents on President Tinubu through substituted means.
Listed along with Tinubu as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026 are the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Tinubu, APC and INEC have since responded to the suit by filing counter-affidavits and preliminary objections, querying the competence of the suit and praying the court to dismiss it.
In a joint counter affidavit filed on September 9, President Tinubu and APC prayed the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it is incompetent and that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to institute the case.
The defendants denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC for the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
President Tinubu and the APC stated that they did not submit any Form CF001 to INEC for 2023 or 2027 poll as claimed by the plaintiffs.
They further stated that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has never denied issuing discharge certificate to the 1st defendant at the end of his service year.
Credit: dailypost.ng
