The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 13 for hearing of a motion by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress seeking to amend their pre-election suit against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress.
Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the case on Monday to allow the parties to regularise their court processes.
Atiku’s lawyer, Joseph Silas, told the court that he had received responses from the other defendants but had yet to receive Tinubu’s counter-affidavit opposing the amendment.
However, counsel to the President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said the counter-affidavit was served on the plaintiffs on September 24.
The judge confirmed the proof of service filed by Olanipekun before fixing October 13 for the hearing.
Atiku and ADC are asking the court to amend their originating summons in a suit seeking to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election.
The plaintiffs had challenged the National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission in connection with Tinubu’s candidacy.
They alleged that the certificate was forged and asked the court to order INEC to remove Tinubu and the APC from the list of presidential candidates and participating parties.
Tinubu and the APC have denied the allegation, asking the court to dismiss the suit.
They argued that the plaintiffs lacked the legal basis to bring the action and denied submitting any forged certificate to INEC.
INEC has also challenged the competence of the suit, arguing that it is statute-barred and that the plaintiffs failed to meet some mandatory requirements for pre-election cases.
Atiku and ADC subsequently filed their motion to amend the case, saying they discovered errors in the original filing.
They said the proposed changes include correcting the description of an INEC form, providing clearer copies of exhibits and setting out the particulars of the alleged fraud more clearly.
They also argued that the amendment would not introduce a new issue or additional relief.
Tinubu has opposed the application, arguing that the proposed amendment goes beyond correcting errors and would substantially alter the original case.
The President’s legal team also argued that the suit was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed period and that an incompetent originating process could not be cured through amendment.
INEC similarly opposed the application, arguing that the proposed changes would introduce a fresh cause of action and attempt to cure a jurisdictional defect after the expiration of the time allowed for filing a pre-election suit.
The court will now determine on October 13 whether Atiku and ADC can amend their originating summons.